

President Donald Trump pardons Libertarian Silk Road creator, Ross Ulbricht, in a nudge towards free markets, crypto markets and Libertarian causes. Dark web creator had been serving 2 life terms plus 40 years in federal prison.
President Donald Trump has granted an unconditional pardon to the creator of the notorious dark web page Silk Road, condemning as ‘scum’ federal prosecutors who sentenced the ‘free market’ advocate to 2 life terms behind bars.
Ross Ulbricht, 40, was arrested in 2013 after a federal probe revealed the dark website the internet ‘entrepreneur’ founded facilitated the sale of illicit drugs using cryptocurrency.
In early 2015 he was sentenced to two life terms in prison plus 40 years for drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit money laundering and computer hacking, operating under the pseudonym ‘Dread Pirate Roberts.’
President Trump just pardoned Ross Ulbricht.
Good.
Ulbricht has served almost 10 years of a life sentence for creating the Silk Road website, where people bought and sold things the government didn’t like. pic.twitter.com/DIvG7keYxo
— John Stossel (@JohnStossel) January 22, 2025
Appealing to free markets and Libertarian causes
‘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,’ president Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday evening, misspelling Ulbricht’s last name. ‘The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!’
Ulbricht’s release follows Trump appealing to Libertarians leading up to the recent presidential elections that he would work towards the release of Ulbricht if they would vote for him. The dark web pioneer has since become a poster hero for free market advocates who strongly believe the government should not impede in commerce, citing government over reach, between consenting agents as long as no violence is involved.
Federal prosecutors had targeted Ulbricht as the dark web site became ever popular, leading to the facilitation of vast amounts of narcotics over the web, as well as counterfeit documents, money laundering services and, at times, guns, for hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin payments.
After the FBI located the Silk Road’s server in Iceland in 2013 and arrested then 29-year-old Ulbricht in San Francisco, he was convicted on seven charges relating to the distribution of narcotics, money laundering, and computer hacking, as well as a ‘continuing criminal enterprise’ statute, usually reserved for mob bosses and cartel leaders according to Wired.
None of the charges were related to Ulbricht personally selling an illegal substance to anyone—the entrepreneur merely ran a website that facilitated it—and none were related to causing direct harm to anyone’s life or property.
Many of Ulbricht’s supporters have long argued that the Silk Road was a principled libertarian experiment in free trade, one in which Ulbricht allowed only ‘victimless crime’—despite prosecutors arguing during his trial that at least six people died of opioid overdoses from drugs linked to the Silk Road.
They point out that Ulbricht never actually sold or possessed drugs himself, and rather ran a website that facilitated their sale. And they argue that by moving the sale of narcotics online, he reduced violence in the drug trade and committed no violence himself.
The White House in 2020, under the helm of Trump, considered freeing Ulbricht but ultimately rejected the idea because of the alleged role of violence in the case, only to do an about face on day 2 of Trump’s second presidential term on Jan 25, 2025.
Notes Wired: ‘… the Trump administration has shifted its stance on Ulbricht’s case—in part, perhaps, due to its embrace of the libertarian cryptocurrency community, for whom Ulbricht has become a martyr and cause célèbre.’
Ulbricht according to justice advocates has become an exemplar of over-sentencing, particularly given that he was technically charged with nonviolent crimes. ‘Ross has served more than enough time. He has been a model prisoner. He’s a first-time, nonviolent offender. He poses zero safety risk to the community,’ Alice Johnson, CEO of the justice reform foundation Taking Action for Good told WIRED in November.
Ulbricht’s release is expected to reignite discussions about the balance between innovation and regulation in the rapidly evolving crypto world along with the limits of government overreach.