Key Points

• The crypto industry celebrates the freedom of Silk Road founder, Ross Ulbricht.
• Ulbricht has been incarcerated since 2013.

The US President, Donald Trump, kept one of his most important promises and pardoned the founder of the Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht who was incarcerated since 2013 following a conviction on multiple charges.

Trump Announces Pardon for Ross Ulbricht

On his Truth Social account, Trump announced on January 21, that he had called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that, in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported him so strongly, he signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross.

Trump also wrote that the people who had worked to convict him were some of the “same lunatics” who were involved in the modern-day weaponization of government against him. Trump said that it was ridiculous that Ross received two life sentences and 40 years.

This was an important announcement for the world, especially the crypto industry, marking one of the most essential promises made by Trump, which he had kept.

Elon Musk also celebrated the moment via a post on X, saying that he was honored to be in the Oval Office yesterday when POTUS signed Ross’ pardon.

Binance’s founder, CZ, also shared a message via X, marking the fact that Trump is a man of his word and he just saved Ross’ life.

Someone also posted that CZ should be next with a full pardon, and Binance’s founder agreed. A public pardoning of CZ would be essential. Acknowledging his contributions to the crypto industry and official recognition of the overreach or misjudgment by regulatory bodies is important.

The first image of Ross leaving prison as a free man was shared via X:

Senator Rand Paul’s Letter to Trump

On January 21, Senator Rand Paul called on President Trump to free Ross from his life sentence via an official letter.

In the letter, he explained that Ross was convicted to serve two life sentences and 40 more years for non-violent offenses related to the website he launched in early 2011.

Rand said that Ulbricht’s sentence was disproportionate to his crimes, pointing out that he was held liable for the drugs and illegal goods bought and sold via the platform. However, the worst drug sellers on the site had received significantly more lenient sentences and some of them are free, while Ross remained imprisoned.

Rand also highlighted that Ross became a model prisoner, devoting much of his time to helping his fellow prisoners by offering classes teaching math, science, and yoga, holding support groups for those coping with substance abuse, and conducting a meditation class to help with the experience of incarceration.

Rand said that the US criminal justice system should protect society from violent lawbreakers instead of filling prisons with nonviolent offenders.

Ross Ulbricht built an anonymous, free, and open platform on Tor called Silk Road in 2011, allowing Bitcoin transactions.

His freedom marks an important moment for the crypto industry, suggesting that Trump could keep all the promises made during his Presidential Campaign, paving the way for a new era.