Ross Ulbricht has yet to receive commutation for his prison sentence from President Donald Trump, dashing hopes from advocates, in the immediate term, to set the notorious figure free.
After spending a session in the Oval Office signing executive orders, President Trump now heads to the Commander in Chief Ball and the Liberty Ball to celebrate.
It is unclear whether Trump intends to pardon or commute Ulbricht’s sentence in the coming weeks. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
“If you vote for me, on day one, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht,” Trump told attendees at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention in May last year, sparking renewed hope for the Silk Road founder’s freedom.
Ulbricht, now 40, responded from prison with gratitude. “After 11 years in prison, it is hard to express how I feel at this moment,” he wrote on X at the time, thanking supporters who kept his case alive.
President Trump’s promise stated he would “commute” Ulbricht’s sentence, as opposed to a pardon. A commutation reduces the severity of a criminal sentence while maintaining the underlying conviction, shortening prison time.
A pardon goes further by granting complete forgiveness, effectively erasing all legal penalties, and restoring civil rights while not declaring innocence outright. Clemency, on the other hand, refers to the authority of government officials that enables both commutations and pardons.
Who is Ross Ulbricht?
Ulbricht, a former Eagle Scout and materials science graduate, founded the Silk Road marketplace in 2011. He was 26 at the time and built Silk Road as an underground e-commerce platform that enabled then-anonymous transactions using Bitcoin.
In October 2013, he was arrested at a San Francisco public library, where FBI agents seized his laptop while it was still connected to the site’s administration panel.
The Silk Road operated as the first modern darknet marketplace, facilitating $1.2 billion in Bitcoin transactions before its shutdown and establishing new patterns for anonymous online commerce.
Ulbricht received two life sentences plus 40 years without parole in 2015, convicted of money laundering, computer hacking, and narcotics trafficking charges.
Having served over a decade in prison, Ulbricht has maintained an exemplary record behind bars, tutoring fellow inmates, teaching classes, and collecting over 150 prisoner testimonials supporting his release.
His case has become a focal point in debates over criminal justice reform, internet freedom, and the ethics of digital marketplaces.
“I’ll spend the next few decades in this cage. Then, sometime later this century, I’ll grow old and die. I’ll finally leave prison, but I’ll be in a body bag,” Ulbricht told an interviewer in August 2021.
Supporters argue his sentence was excessive, pointing to his clean record as a model prisoner who has expressed remorse while helping fellow inmates. Over 150 current and former prisoners have signed letters supporting his clemency.
“I was trying to help us move toward a freer and more equitable world,” Ulbricht said from prison in 2021. “We all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and now here I am. I’m in hell.”
While prosecutors painted Ulbricht as a dangerous kingpin, advocates describe him as an idealistic libertarian whose non-violent platform reduced risks in drug transactions.
“I hope you get the freedom you deserve. Life imprisonment for what you did is absurd,” Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin wrote, replying to a post on X from Ulbricht.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Source: https://decrypt.co/301981/trump-promised-free-silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-on-day-one-what-gives
