Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht took to social media Thursday night to issue his first statement after being granted a full pardon Wednesday, calling U.S. President Donald Trump “a man of his word.”
Ross Ulbricht Shares His First Words After Release
Ulbricht, who founded Silk Road in 2011, has been serving a life sentence for operating the darknet marketplace since 2015.
“Thank you so much, President Trump, for giving me this amazing opportunity,” Ulbricht says in a video posted to X Wednesday. “I am so, so grateful to have my life back, to have my future back, to have this second chance.”
“There’s a lot to talk about, and I look forward to re-engaging with the free world,” Ulbricht said, indicating he would take time in the immediate future to reunite with his family and begin the healing process. “Once I’m feeling up for it,” he continued, “we’ll talk again.”
How Bitcoiners Reacted to Trump’s Pardon
Members of the Bitcoin community have long campaigned for Ulbricht’s freedom, with Bitcoin playing a critical role in Silk Road’s history.
Many of the illicit transactions utilized on Silk Road involved Bitcoin, with a large share of coins currently in the U.S. government’s possession stemming from Ulbricht’s operation.
The Austin, Texas, native previously held $12 million worth of Bitcoin before it was ultimately seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Current estimates place the aforementioned Bitcoin stash at about $18 billion, which would have made Ulbricht one of the wealthiest men worldwide.
Though the federal government largely condemned the cryptocurrency’s usage on the site, it marked one of the first times digital assets were used as a commonplace currency and ushered in a wave of discourse over the role of digital finance and its relationship with the traditional banking system.
The executive order freeing Ulbricht is just one of many signed by Trump since his inauguration on January 20.
“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement… it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” Trump said in a January 21 Truth Social post.
Members of the crypto community have expressed both optimism and skepticism of Trump’s relationship with digital assets, though Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have rallied amid anticipated regulatory changes affecting the sector in the U.S.
It is unclear what role Ulbricht will play across the crypto industry going forward, if any.
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