Technically, Donald Trump broke his campaign promise by not freeing Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht on day one of his presidency. (No, inauguration day is not “day zero.”) But as I explained in my previous Take, I wasn’t expecting a literal first day pardon anyways. Even day two exceeds my expectations. Trump delivered, and I’m very glad he did.
When I first heard about Silk Road in early 2013, I was immediately intrigued by the concept of buying and selling drugs anonymously online. To this day, I think darknet markets are the best intermediary step before the war on drugs is ended: It removes dealers from street corners while providing users some level of quality assurance through a public rating system.
Discovering Silk Road was also how I first learned about Bitcoin. I started writing about the digital currency a few months later, and am still at it today. In a way, I owe my career to Ulbricht.
That Ulbricht was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison was a miscarriage of justice in my view. Even if you believe he is guilty of everything he’s been convicted of (all non-violent crimes), over a decade behind bars should be long enough.
To be sure, I don’t believe Trump actually cares about Ulbricht; he could have freed him during his first term if that was the case. And Trump certainly has no intent of ending the war on drugs; if anything, he’s about to escalate it by designating cartels to be terrorist organizations and imposing the death penalty on drug dealers. Trump promised to pardon Ulbricht because that would benefit him politically — but to his credit, he kept his word.
Ross is finally free. Well done President Trump, and everyone else who helped make this happen.
This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
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