“If you vote for me, from day one, I will commute Ross Ulbricht's sentence”
Ross Ulbricht, the creator and operator of Silk Road, a black-market platform primarily focused on illegal drugs, has been a prominent figure in the Republican presidential election. Born on March 27, 1984, in Austin, Texas, Ulbricht was a brilliant student who obtained a physics degree from the University of Texas and a master's degree in chemistry and materials engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He founded Silk Road in 2011.
Ulbricht's trial began in January 2015 and he was declared guilty of all charges in February 2015. In May 2015, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of condicional libertad. The case has become emblematic of the struggle between digital anonymity, free markets, and the application of law in the Internet era.
The operations of Silk Road and his subsequent capture and processing highlight the complexity of regularizing illegal online activities and the challenges presented by emerging technologies like cryptocurrencies and dark webs. The relevance of Ulbricht to the bitcoiners sector and Trump's statements generated various comments on social X.
Ryan Selkis, CEO of Messari, expects power to "estrecharle la mano" Ulbricht when he is released next year, predicting that he will comply with his words. Bitcoiner and podcaster Peter McCormack expressed satisfaction with Ulbricht's campaign for his release and the reform of prison sentences in the US.
Pierre Rochard, vice president of Riot Platforms, believes that Joe Biden should give the indult the next week, as it aligns with progressive criminal justice reform. Jameson Lopp, a Bitcoin enthusiast, believes Trump's statement is a political juggle, as he had the opportunity to do so for four years but declined.
According to PolitiFact, Trump only fulfilled 25% of the promises made during his 2016 campaign, indicating that he did not fulfill all promises.
