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Trump Frees Silk Road Founder From Life in Federal Prison
On his second day in office, U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, an online marketplace tied to over $200 million in illegal bitcoin transactions. Ulbricht has been serving a life sentence in federal prison since 2015, with no possibility of parole.
The prosecution of the now 40-year-old Ulbricht became a landmark case in 2013 after federal authorities shuttered the “Silk Road” darknet marketplace site. Ulbricht, a former engineering graduate student described as the mastermind of Silk Road, was convicted after a month-long trial by jury on seven charges including distributing and conspiring to distribute narcotics, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiring to commit computer hacking, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents, and conspiring to commit money laundering.
Trump announced his ”full and unconditional pardon” of Ulbricht on his social media platform, Truth Social, accusing the Department of Justice of abusing its power – similar to claims he made on the campaign trail facing his own federal charges.
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me,” Trump wrote.
Silk Road launched in 2011, had 1 million members worldwide and was used by thousands of drug dealers and other criminals before the FBI shut it down in October 2013. Prosecutors said the site was related to several drug-related deaths and six murder-for-hire schemes. The FBI arrested Ulbricht, aka “Dread Pirate Roberts,” on charges that he led the Bitcoin-based $1.2 billion enterprise. He was ordered to forfeit $183.9 million.
Trump, 78, said he personally called Ulbricht’s mother to deliver the news.
“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbright [sic] 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,” he said.
Ulbricht’s lengthy sentence has become a rallying cry for liberations, many of whom support drug legalization. Both Ulbricht and his online persona Dread Pirate Roberts indicated their support for the libertarian theories of Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises, with the Dread Pirate Roberts repeatedly crediting von Mises for “providing the philosophical underpinnings for Silk Road.”
Trump first floated the idea of freeing Ulbricht in May during his speech at the Libertarian National Convention. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), son of three-time Libertarian Party presidential candidate Ron Paul, urged Trump to pardon Ulbricht in a letter Monday.
“I write to urge you to follow through on your stated intention to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht. Mr. Ulbricht is serving two life sentences plus 40 years without parole for nonviolent offenses related to the website he launched in early 2011,” Paul said. “Like so many others, I am shocked by the harsh sentence imposed on this first-time offender.”
Ulbricht’s lawyer, Joshua Dratel in an email to Reuters, expressed gratitude for what he called the correction of an injustice, adding that the pardon will enable Ulbricht to have a chance at a productive future.
While the conviction of Ulbricht came during the Obama administration, federal agencies have taken a stricter stance on the regulation of cryptocurrency marketplaces and attempted to claw back proceeds of criminal operations. Trump, in contrast, during his 2024 campaign pledged to make the U.S. the “the crypto capital of the planet.” He launched his own “meme coin,” known as $TRUMP, on the Friday before his inauguration for nearly $6.50. It was valued at $43.03 on Wednesday. First lady Melania Trump also launched a meme coin, $MELANIA, on Sunday.
Silk Road Seizure
Ironically, the cryptocurrency proceeds from Silk Road were lost for years after it was stolen by a hacker. Federal prosecutors in 2022 announced the formal seizure of nearly $1 billion worth of bitcoin stolen from the Silk Road site in 201 and arrested Georgia developer James Zhong, who had exploited a flaw in Silk Road’s payment system to siphon 50,000 bitcoin. (see: Feds Announce Silk Road Cryptocurrency Haul).
Zhong pleaded guilty to wire fraud, admitting to using rapid, millisecond withdrawals to exploit the platform. Federal agents discovered the funds during a 2021 raid on Zhong’s home, hidden in a bathroom popcorn tin and underground safe.
Prosecutors attributed the arrest of Zhong to advanced cryptocurrency tracing and traditional police methods. The FBI identified Ulbricht as a suspect from a post in a cryptocurrency forum that included his Gmail address, and then they tracked his Silk Road activities an IP address tied to a San Francisco internet café.
