• Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht finally sees freedom after gaining a pardon from President Trump
• Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 for being the mastermind of one of the biggest darknet marketplaces of its time

The United States President – Donald Trump has officially announced that he would be pardoning Silk Road founder – Ross Ulbricht. In May 2024, Trump pledged to pardon Ulbricht on the first day of office, if re-elected. And, staying true to his words, President Trump made the much-awaited announcement, stating,

“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbright to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross.”

In October 2013, Ulbricht made headlines for being the face behind the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts” aka DPR. Arrested at the Glen Park Branch Library in San Francisco, the 30-year old Ph.D. student studying solar cells was caught red-handed for being the the mastermind of one the biggest darknet marketplace.

Silk Road paving way for Bitcoin as a currency

Launched in 2011, Silk Road had rose to fame on the back of Tor and Bitcoin (BTC). It was a marketplace that allowed people to purchase drugs, particularly MDMA, without having to disclose their personal information.

Notably, this marketplace became the first big store to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a mode of currency as it was its primary currency. This played a significant role in the king coin’s adoption, demonstrating its fast, secure, and anonymous. However, it also caused the coin to earn the reputation of being the go-to medium for criminal activities.

After his arrest, there were several inconsistencies about the case that came to light, including the claim Ulbricht made of being the creator of the marketplace but not the operator of it at the time of his arrest. However, this claim along with other inconsistencies including corruption involving main investigation officers, made no difference in his sentencing.

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Author: Priya NV