President Trump Pardons Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht, Ending Life Sentence

Jan 22, 2025, 12:18 AM

President Donald Trump has granted a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the 40-year-old founder of Silk Road, an underground online marketplace that facilitated over $200 million in illicit trade using Bitcoin. Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 on charges including drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and computer hacking, and was serving a sentence of two life terms plus 40 years without the possibility of parole. The pardon fulfills a campaign promise made by Trump to the Libertarian community and supporters of cryptocurrency. Trump reportedly called Ulbricht's mother to deliver the news personally and criticized the severity of his sentence.