Trump signs executive order to pardon Ross Ulbricht
2025-01-22
Category: None

United States President Donald Trump has officially signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, according to his post on Truth Social.
"I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht 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," Trump wrote in the post. "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. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!"
"Words cannot express how grateful we are," the family's Free Ross campaign account posted on X. "President Trump is a man of his word and he just saved Ross's life. ROSS IS A FREE MAN!!!!!"
Ulbricht was serving the multiple life sentence without the possibility of parole for creating and operating Silk Road, a darknet market that facilitated the sale of narcotics and other illegal products and services. He was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in October 2013 before being convicted in 2015 for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, distributing narcotics, conspiring to distribute narcotics, conspiring to commit money laundering, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents and other charges. The large-scale platform used bitcoin for transactions and helped to popularize the cryptocurrency's use. However, it also fueled critics' view of bitcoin's association with illegal activities in its early days.
Freeing Ross Ulbricht from incarceration has long been a priority for Bitcoiners who have petitioned for his sentence to be commuted for many years, considering it to be disproportionately harsh. Ulbricht’s vision for Silk Road was rooted in libertarian ideals of free markets and individual freedom, themes that resonate strongly within parts of the crypto community. After Silk Road's shutdown, U.S. authorities seized approximately 174,000 BTC from wallets associated with the platform, much of which has since been auctioned off by the U.S. government.
During the presidential election campaign, Trump said he would commute Ulbricht's sentence on his first day in office if re-elected. A similar promise was made by presidential-hopeful-turned-Trump-ally Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Last night, Donald Trump pledged to commute my sentence on day one, if reelected," Ulbricht's X account said in May of last year, adding: "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. After 11 years in prison, it is hard to express how I feel at this moment. It is thanks to your undying support that I may get a second chance."
Following Trump's victory over Kamala Harris in November, OG bitcoiners, including Erik Voorhees, Michael Goldstein and Amir Taaki, were swift to remind the president-elect of the pledge, urging Ulbricht’s prompt release. “I owe everything to Ross Ulbricht. Crypto changed my life. Crypto became big because of him. He made the ultimate sacrifice. We all benefited from his work,” Taaki said.
Trump's other key crypto-related election pledges included establishing a bitcoin strategic stockpile, appointing a more crypto-friendly Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, establishing a Crypto Presidential Advisory Council, repealing SAB 121, ending “Operation Choke Point 2.0” and turning the U.S. into a bitcoin mining “powerhouse.”
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