On the second day of his second presidential term, US President Donald J. Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon for Ross William Ulbricht, a key figure in the early history of bitcoin and former operator of the now-defunct Silk Road market. . The move has sparked a wave of celebration among the community, which long viewed Ulbricht's life sentences as emblematic of excessive punishment for a first-time, nonviolent offender.
“I just called Ross William Ulbricht's mother to let her know that, in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have signed a full and unconditional pardon for her son, Ross. The scum who worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern use of the government as a weapon against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous”, Trump <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/TrumpDailyPosts/status/1881856567684817230″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>aware via Social Truth.
Ulbricht had been serving two life sentences plus 40 years on charges related to his role in creating Silk Road, an online marketplace that leveraged bitcoin as its primary payment method. Supporters say the harsh sentence was an attempt to attack both Silk Road and btc during the early days, when regulators and politicians were still grappling with the technology's disruptive potential.
The pardon fulfills a promise Trump made at the bitcoin 2024 conference, where he pledged to free Ulbricht if he was re-elected. Vijay Boyapati, author of “The Bullish Case for bitcoin,” stressed Ulbricht's importance to early bitcoin adopters. in a <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/real_vijay/status/1881869635915809001″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>mail At x, Boyapati explained: “bitcoin newcomers may not understand why veterans care so much about Ross Ulbricht. (…) He embodied the spirit of early bitcoin more than anyone. “He was an entrepreneur who created a thriving market.”
He further maintains that Ulricht believed in “radical freedom, including the freedom to exchange anything with anyone else, as long as it was peaceful and voluntary.” He wrote regularly about his views on freedom and why he built the first truly successful bitcoin business: the Silk Road. “He wanted to create a better world and believed deeply in his principles.”
Boyapati added that in the early days, many bitcoin enthusiasts felt that Ulbricht's punishment was unfair: “as if they were locking up one of our own in spite of what we all believed was a peaceful revolution.” He also reminded newcomers to “never forget that there was a deeper purpose here” beyond bitcoin's price gains, pointing to the community's original ideals of libertarian freedom.
The bitcoin Strategic Reserve
The pardon raises fresh speculation that Trump could fulfill another campaign promise: establishing a Strategic bitcoin Reserve (SBR). During the 2024 conference, he raised the idea of transferring all btc seized by law enforcement to a national reserve. With Ulbricht's promise fulfilled, some in the community hope the SBR initiative will emerge next.
On Polymarket, the odds of a Strategic bitcoin Reserve (SBR) increased from 28% to 44% following the news. Notably, the odds were even higher on Inauguration Day, reaching 59%. However, with President Trump yet to issue an executive order on cryptocurrencies, the odds had plummeted to 28% before Ross Ulbricht's pardon.
A widely followed cryptanalyst known as General Byzantine <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/Swan/status/1881872541771526597″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>aware on x: “The fact that he kept his promise to Ross is a good sign, in my opinion, that he will continue to support cryptocurrencies.”
David Bailey, CEO of btc Inc and an influential figure in changing Trump's stance in favor of bitcoin, also <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/DavidFBailey/status/1881876312341823626″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>implied that more cryptocurrency-focused actions are likely: “It's all about Ross tonight, but I'll share this as I get a ton of questions: I'm still expecting EOs dedicated to bitcoin+crypto in the coming days. I don't know what they say or when exactly they fall. “I also fully expect the president to deliver on the SBR in his first 100 days.”
At the time of publication, btc was trading at $105,558.
Featured image of x, chart from TradingView.com
