Technically, Donald Trump broke his campaign promise by not freeing Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht on the first day of his presidency. (No, inauguration day is not a “zero day.”) But as I explained in my Go aheadI didn't expect literal forgiveness the first day anyway. Even the second day exceeded 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 anonymously buying and selling drugs online. To this day, I think darknet markets are the best intermediate step before the war on drugs ends: it removes dealers from street corners and provides a level of quality assurance for users through a public evaluation system.
Discovering Silk Road was also how I first learned about Bitcoin. I started writing about digital currency a few months later, and I'm still there today. In a way, I owe my career to Ulbricht.
In my opinion, Ulbricht's sentence to spend the rest of his life in prison was a miscarriage of justice. Even if you believe that he is guilty of everything he was convicted of (all non-violent crimes), more than ten years behind bars should be long enough.
To be sure, I don't believe Trump cares about Ulbricht; he could be freed during his first term if that were the case. And Trump certainly has no intention of ending the war on drugs; if anything, it's going to increase it declaring cartels to be terrorist groups 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.
Finally, Ross is free. Well done President Trump, and everyone else who helped make this happen.
This article is a Take. The views expressed are entirely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
