Ross Ulbricht reemerges as crypto celebrity after Trump pardon

[Bitcoin Conference Held In Las Vegas]
Ian Maule/Getty Images News

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, has reemerged as a high-profile figure in the cryptocurrency world after receiving a presidential pardon earlier this year, the New York Times reported Sunday.

Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 for creating the online drug bazaar, walked free in January following a deal between Donald Trump and the Libertarian Party. He has since launched a speaking tour that has taken him from libertarian gatherings in California and New Hampshire to a young Republicans event in Florida, where he praised Trump and argued for drug decriminalization.

At a cryptocurrency convention in Las Vegas, Ulbricht was greeted with cheers and dined with supporters who paid thousands of dollars to join him. He told attendees that after years behind bars, the outside world felt unfamiliar. He also credited the Bitcoin community with convincing Trump to grant him clemency.

His comeback has been fueled by millions in crypto donations, one anonymous gift alone totaled more than $30 million. He has auctioned off possessions from prison, raising more than $1 million, and shared glimpses of a new life with his wife, Caroline, on social media.

Supporters see him as a symbol of overzealous sentencing, but law enforcement officials who worked on the Silk Road case call his release a travesty, pointing to the site’s links to drug-related deaths. Families of victims have condemned his new celebrity status as offensive.

Ulbricht, now 41, has avoided contrition in most appearances but has admitted that Silk Road contributed to addiction, a fact he said will weigh on him for life. Despite controversy, crypto leaders have embraced him, some even offering him jobs, while speculation grows that he could one day try to reclaim part of the government’s multibillion-dollar Silk Road Bitcoin stash, the Times reported.

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