Trump pardons Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht

US President Donald Trump has followed through on his promise to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the online drug market Silk Road, who was imprisoned for over a decade.

US President Donald Trump has given a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the defunct darknet marketplace Silk Road who has been in prison for 12 years.

“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbright to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” Trump said in a Jan. 21 post to his Truth Social platform.

The president added that Ulbricht’s sentence of 40 years plus two life sentences was “ridiculous.”

Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to life in prison in 2015 without the possibility of parole for his role in the operation and creation of the Silk Road.

Freeing Ulbricht was one of Trump’s many promises to the crypto community during his presidential campaign who had pledged to pardon the Silk Road founder on his first day in office if reelected.

Several Bitcoiners had earlier expressed frustration with Trump for not following through on his promise to pardon Ulbricht on Jan. 20 — who instead pardoned around 1,500 people charged, convicted, or sentenced over the US Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

US Senator Rand Paul had also called on Trump to pardon Ulbricht in a Jan. 21 letter just hours before the president announced the pardon.

Paul noted that Ulbricht — whose online black marketplace used Bitcoin

BTC

$105,858

for payments — received a far harsher sentence than many users, such as Matthew Verran Jones, who ranked in the top 5% of drug dealers on the site and received six years in jail.

Some reports previously suggested that Trump was sympathetic to the Free Ross campaign and considered clemency for the Silk Road founder in 2020.

The crypto community has long called for Ulbricht’s release for various reasons.

Some questioned Ulbricht’s key role in the Silk Road, arguing that he didn’t deserve to die in prison for contributing to a marketplace where users could freely exchange goods, both legal and illegal.

Others called him a “Bitcoin legend” due to his early contribution to the Bitcoin market.

While Ulbricht did not deny his involvement in Silk Road operations, he repeatedly contested allegations that he was the sole person in charge or the original creator of the platform.

“I didn’t start the Silk Road, my predecessor did. From what I understand, it was an original idea to combine Bitcoin and Tor to create an anonymous market. Everything was in place, he just put the pieces together,” Ulbricht said in a Forbes interview in 2013.

“I owe everything to Ross Ulbricht. Crypto changed my life. Crypto became big because of him. He made the ultimate sacrifice. We all benefitted from his work,” the Bitcoin project programmer Amir Taaki said on X.

Related: Crypto observers still hopeful on Trump despite silence on first day

Bitcoin-friendly billionaire investor Tim Draper supported Ulbricht’s release in 2019, arguing that the US needs entrepreneurs like him.

Ulbricht’s views on freedom resonated with Bitcoin’s principles, further cementing his place as a polarizing figure in the crypto community.

During his time in prison, Ulbricht has regularly posted about Bitcoin and crypto on X. On Jan. 19, Ulbricht took to X to warn the community against a fake memecoin bearing his name.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-pardon-ross-ulbricht-silk-road

Some Bitcoiners supported Ulbricht’s release for his role in the adoption of Bitcoin. Silk Road was one of the first peer-to-peer exchanges accepting BTC, though for illicit purposes.

Ulbricht is believed to have launched Silk Road in 2011 and helped bring Bitcoin to prominence during its early days. That year, Bitcoin experienced its first rally, reaching a then-record price of $32 in June.

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Trump pardons Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht

US President Donald Trump has followed through on his promise to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the online drug market Silk Road, who was imprisoned for over a decade.

US President Donald Trump has given a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the defunct darknet marketplace Silk Road who has been in prison for 12 years.

“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbright to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” Trump said in a Jan. 21 post to his Truth Social platform.

The president added that Ulbricht’s sentence of 40 years plus two life sentences was “ridiculous.”

Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to life in prison in 2015 without the possibility of parole for his role in the operation and creation of the Silk Road.

Freeing Ulbricht was one of Trump’s many promises to the crypto community during his presidential campaign who had pledged to pardon the Silk Road founder on his first day in office if reelected.

Several Bitcoiners had earlier expressed frustration with Trump for not following through on his promise to pardon Ulbricht on Jan. 20 — who instead pardoned around 1,500 people charged, convicted, or sentenced over the US Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

US Senator Rand Paul had also called on Trump to pardon Ulbricht in a Jan. 21 letter just hours before the president announced the pardon.

Paul noted that Ulbricht — whose online black marketplace used Bitcoin

BTC

$105,858

for payments — received a far harsher sentence than many users, such as Matthew Verran Jones, who ranked in the top 5% of drug dealers on the site and received six years in jail.

Some reports previously suggested that Trump was sympathetic to the Free Ross campaign and considered clemency for the Silk Road founder in 2020.

The crypto community has long called for Ulbricht’s release for various reasons.

Some questioned Ulbricht’s key role in the Silk Road, arguing that he didn’t deserve to die in prison for contributing to a marketplace where users could freely exchange goods, both legal and illegal.

Others called him a “Bitcoin legend” due to his early contribution to the Bitcoin market.

While Ulbricht did not deny his involvement in Silk Road operations, he repeatedly contested allegations that he was the sole person in charge or the original creator of the platform.

“I didn’t start the Silk Road, my predecessor did. From what I understand, it was an original idea to combine Bitcoin and Tor to create an anonymous market. Everything was in place, he just put the pieces together,” Ulbricht said in a Forbes interview in 2013.

“I owe everything to Ross Ulbricht. Crypto changed my life. Crypto became big because of him. He made the ultimate sacrifice. We all benefitted from his work,” the Bitcoin project programmer Amir Taaki said on X.

Related: Crypto observers still hopeful on Trump despite silence on first day

Bitcoin-friendly billionaire investor Tim Draper supported Ulbricht’s release in 2019, arguing that the US needs entrepreneurs like him.

Ulbricht’s views on freedom resonated with Bitcoin’s principles, further cementing his place as a polarizing figure in the crypto community.

During his time in prison, Ulbricht has regularly posted about Bitcoin and crypto on X. On Jan. 19, Ulbricht took to X to warn the community against a fake memecoin bearing his name.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-pardon-ross-ulbricht-silk-road

Some Bitcoiners supported Ulbricht’s release for his role in the adoption of Bitcoin. Silk Road was one of the first peer-to-peer exchanges accepting BTC, though for illicit purposes.

Ulbricht is believed to have launched Silk Road in 2011 and helped bring Bitcoin to prominence during its early days. That year, Bitcoin experienced its first rally, reaching a then-record price of $32 in June.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-pardon-ross-ulbricht-silk-road

Trump pardons Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht

US President Donald Trump has followed through on his promise to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the online drug market Silk Road, who was imprisoned for over a decade.

US President Donald Trump has given a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the defunct darknet marketplace Silk Road who has been in prison for 12 years.

“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbright to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” Trump said in a Jan. 21 post to his Truth Social platform.

The president added that Ulbricht’s sentence of 40 years plus two life sentences was “ridiculous.”

Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to life in prison in 2015 without the possibility of parole for his role in the operation and creation of the Silk Road.

Freeing Ulbricht was one of Trump’s many promises to the crypto community during his presidential campaign who had pledged to pardon the Silk Road founder on his first day in office if reelected.

Several Bitcoiners had earlier expressed frustration with Trump for not following through on his promise to pardon Ulbricht on Jan. 20 — who instead pardoned around 1,500 people charged, convicted, or sentenced over the US Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

US Senator Rand Paul had also called on Trump to pardon Ulbricht in a Jan. 21 letter just hours before the president announced the pardon.

Paul noted that Ulbricht — whose online black marketplace used Bitcoin for payments — received a far harsher sentence than many users, such as Matthew Verran Jones, who ranked in the top 5% of drug dealers on the site and received six years in jail.

Some reports previously suggested that Trump was sympathetic to the Free Ross campaign and considered clemency for the Silk Road founder in 2020.

The crypto community has long called for Ulbricht’s release for various reasons.

Some questioned Ulbricht’s key role in the Silk Road, arguing that he didn’t deserve to die in prison for contributing to a marketplace where users could freely exchange goods, both legal and illegal.

Others called him a “Bitcoin legend” due to his early contribution to the Bitcoin market.

While Ulbricht did not deny his involvement in Silk Road operations, he repeatedly contested allegations that he was the sole person in charge or the original creator of the platform.

“I didn’t start the Silk Road, my predecessor did. From what I understand, it was an original idea to combine Bitcoin and Tor to create an anonymous market. Everything was in place, he just put the pieces together,” Ulbricht said in a Forbes interview in 2013.

“I owe everything to Ross Ulbricht. Crypto changed my life. Crypto became big because of him. He made the ultimate sacrifice. We all benefitted from his work,” the Bitcoin project programmer Amir Taaki said on X.

Related: Crypto observers still hopeful on Trump despite silence on first day

Bitcoin-friendly billionaire investor Tim Draper supported Ulbricht’s release in 2019, arguing that the US needs entrepreneurs like him.

Ulbricht’s views on freedom resonated with Bitcoin’s principles, further cementing his place as a polarizing figure in the crypto community.

During his time in prison, Ulbricht has regularly posted about Bitcoin and crypto on X. On Jan. 19, Ulbricht took to X to warn the community against a fake memecoin bearing his name.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-pardon-ross-ulbricht-silk-road

Some Bitcoiners supported Ulbricht’s release for his role in the adoption of Bitcoin. Silk Road was one of the first peer-to-peer exchanges accepting BTC, though for illicit purposes.

Ulbricht is believed to have launched Silk Road in 2011 and helped bring Bitcoin to prominence during its early days. That year, Bitcoin experienced its first rally, reaching a then-record price of $32 in June.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-pardon-ross-ulbricht-silk-road

>>22406368

Trump just Truthed it.

Summary of Trump executive orders so far

-Direct DOJ not to enforce TikTok “divest-or-ban” law for 75 days

-Halt 78 Biden-era executive actions

-Withdraw from the Paris climate accord

-End all federal cases and investigations of any Trump supporters

-Revoke protections for transgender troops

-Pardon about 1,500 people criminally charged in the Jan. 6 attack, while commuting the sentences for six

-Overhaul the refugee admission program to better align with American principles and interests

-Declare a national emergency at the US-Mexico border

-Designate drug cartels and Tren de Aragua as foreign terrorist organizations

-Reverse several immigration orders from the Biden administration, including one that narrows deportation priorities to people who commit serious crimes, are deemed national security threats or were stopped at the border

-Rescind a policy created by the Biden administration that sought to guide the development of AI to prevent misuse

-Rescind a Biden-era policy that allowed federal agencies to take certain initiatives to boost voter registration

-Rescind the 2021 Title IX order, which bans discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation in education programs that get federal funding

-Revoke Biden’s recent removal of Cuba from US state sponsors of terrorism list

-Order federal employees back to work in office five days a week

-Order a federal hiring freeze, including exceptions for posts related to national security and public safety and the military

-Direct every governmental department and agency to address the cost-of-living crisis

-Restore freedom of speech and prevent censorship of free speech

-End the “weaponization of government against the political adversaries of the previous administration”

-Impose 25% tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada as of Feb. 1

-Reverse Biden sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank

-Reverse Biden order requiring 50% of new cars sold in 2030 be EVs

-Proclaim that there are two biological sexes: male and female

-End diversity, equity and inclusion programs within federal agencies

-Establish Department of Government Efficiency

-Institute enhanced screening for visa applicants from certain high-risk nations

-Reopen Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration

-Order attorney general, secretary of state and secretary of homeland security to “take all appropriate action to prioritize” prosecution of illegal aliens who commit crimes

-Withdraw US from Global Minimum Tax agreement

-Institute a 90-day pause in the issuance of US foreign aid

-Order the attorney general to pursue the death penalty for killing of a law enforcement officer or any capital crime committed by an illegal immigrant

-Order the secretaries of commerce and the interior to restart efforts to route water from California’s -Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state

-Withdraw the US from the World Health Organization

-Order Treasury Department to explore creation of External Revenue Service

-Revoke security clearances for ex-national security adviser John Bolton and 51 intelligence officials who said Hunter Biden laptop bore “classic earmarks” of Russian disinformation.

-Declare the border crisis an “invasion” and order the attorney general and secretaries of state and homeland security to “take all appropriate action to repel, repatriate, or remove any alien engaged” in such

-Formally rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” and Alaska’s Mt. Denali to “Mt. McKinley”

https://nypost.com/2025/01/21/us-news/trump-to-remove-over-1000-biden-appointees-youre-fired/

President Trump and Vice President Vance arrive at the National Prayer Service

https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1881738368318681498

Where is the outrage?

'Dow surges 500 points

Stocks advanced on Tuesday as Wall Street viewed President Donald Trump’s comments and first-day actions around international trade as a bit softer than initially believed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 537.98 points, or 1.24%, to finish at 44,025.81. The S&P 500 gained 0.88% to end at 6,049.24, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.64% to 19,756.78. 3M climbed more than 4% after earnings came in better than analysts expected. Small-cap stocks also participated in Tuesday’s rally, with the Russell 2000 rising about 1.9%.

Several big technology stocks also took a leg up, with Amazon and Nvidia each gaining more than 2%. But a drop of more than 3% in Apple on the back of two Wall Street downgrades restricted gains for the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Trump said he was considering 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Feb. 1 because of their border policies while signing first-day executive orders in the White House Monday night. He also mentioned China, noting that the U.S. could put tariffs on the country if it doesn’t approve a TikTok deal.

Ultimately, Trump issued a broad memorandum directing federal agencies to study what he deems as unfair trade policies with foreign countries. But the president stopped short of authorizing new levies on his first day back in the Oval Office, which investors took as a sign that he may be less ardent about issuing tariffs than previously expected.

“President Trump’s Inauguration Day policy announcements on tariffs were more benign than expected,” said Alec Phillips, chief U.S. political economist at Goldman Sachs, in a note to clients. “For now, it is a lower priority than we would have expected.”

To be sure, Phillips said Trump’s language around Canada and Mexico was actually more hawkish than he anticipated. Still, the economist said he was lowering the odds that the U.S. slaps a universal tariff on all imports this year, which can offer confidence to traders originally cautious that a wide-reaching policy would reignite inflation.

Trump said he wasn’t ready for universal tariffs yet and he was vague when discussing levies on China.

Outside of trade policy, Wall Street is focused on Trump following through on the pro-business proclamations he made throughout his campaign. Most notably, his calls for looser regulations that helped lift banking stocks following his election win in November. Other components of the so-called Trump trade — including small caps, oil stocks and bitcoin — will likely be hypersensitive to what his administration does.

In his inaugural address, the president labeled his return to the White House as the beginning of a period of growth and success for the country, while largely condemning the Biden Administration. Trump also on Monday declared a national energy emergency to increase fossil fuel production.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/20/stock-futures-rise-as-trumps-second-term-begins-live-updates.html

Dow surges 500 points

Stocks advanced on Tuesday as Wall Street viewed President Donald Trump’s comments and first-day actions around international trade as a bit softer than initially believed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 537.98 points, or 1.24%, to finish at 44,025.81. The S&P 500 gained 0.88% to end at 6,049.24, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.64% to 19,756.78. 3M climbed more than 4% after earnings came in better than analysts expected. Small-cap stocks also participated in Tuesday’s rally, with the Russell 2000 rising about 1.9%.

Several big technology stocks also took a leg up, with Amazon and Nvidia each gaining more than 2%. But a drop of more than 3% in Apple on the back of two Wall Street downgrades restricted gains for the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Trump said he was considering 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Feb. 1 because of their border policies while signing first-day executive orders in the White House Monday night. He also mentioned China, noting that the U.S. could put tariffs on the country if it doesn’t approve a TikTok deal.

Ultimately, Trump issued a broad memorandum directing federal agencies to study what he deems as unfair trade policies with foreign countries. But the president stopped short of authorizing new levies on his first day back in the Oval Office, which investors took as a sign that he may be less ardent about issuing tariffs than previously expected.

“President Trump’s Inauguration Day policy announcements on tariffs were more benign than expected,” said Alec Phillips, chief U.S. political economist at Goldman Sachs, in a note to clients. “For now, it is a lower priority than we would have expected.”

To be sure, Phillips said Trump’s language around Canada and Mexico was actually more hawkish than he anticipated. Still, the economist said he was lowering the odds that the U.S. slaps a universal tariff on all imports this year, which can offer confidence to traders originally cautious that a wide-reaching policy would reignite inflation.

Trump said he wasn’t ready for universal tariffs yet and he was vague when discussing levies on China.

Outside of trade policy, Wall Street is focused on Trump following through on the pro-business proclamations he made throughout his campaign. Most notably, his calls for looser regulations that helped lift banking stocks following his election win in November. Other components of the so-called Trump trade — including small caps, oil stocks and bitcoin — will likely be hypersensitive to what his administration does.

In his inaugural address, the president labeled his return to the White House as the beginning of a period of growth and success for the country, while largely condemning the Biden Administration. Trump also on Monday declared a national energy emergency to increase fossil fuel production.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/20/stock-futures-rise-as-trumps-second-term-begins-live-updates.html