Key Takeaways:
- Former President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road marketplace, fulfilling a campaign promise to the crypto community.
- Trump criticized Ulbricht’s life sentence as “ridiculous,” while supporters like Senator Rand Paul highlighted the sentence’s harshness compared to others involved.
- Ulbricht’s release concludes over a decade of incarceration, reigniting debates about justice reform and digital-era sentencing.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road, fulfilling a campaign promise to the crypto community.
Ulbricht had been serving two life sentences plus 40 years without parole for operating the Bitcoin-based platform, which facilitated transactions for illegal goods.
BREAKING: Here's the first image of Ross Ulbricht leaving prison as a free man 🧡 pic.twitter.com/j2vYeypmDs
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 22, 2025
Trump announced the pardon on January 21 via Truth Social, citing the severity of the sentence as “ridiculous” and acknowledging the advocacy of Ulbricht’s mother and the Libertarian movement.
Arrested in 2013 and sentenced in 2015, Ulbricht’s case became a focal point for debates on justice reform.
Advocates, including U.S. Senator Rand Paul, argued his punishment was disproportionately harsh compared to others involved in Silk Road, such as Matthew Verran Jones, who received a six-year sentence.
Paul sent a letter urging Trump to act just hours before the announcement.
The pardon, delayed a day after Trump pardoned 1,500 others, including those linked to the January 6 Capitol attack, sparked mixed reactions among supporters.
Ulbricht’s release ends over a decade of incarceration, elevating his case as a symbol in discussions on sentencing reform and digital-era justice.