Ross Ulbricht, known as the pioneer of the first “modern darknet market” has surpassed the ten-year mark in his double life imprisonment sentence, a punishment handed over by US authorities back in 2013. Ulbricht was the driving force behind the online black market “Silk Road”, a platform he managed covertly under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts”. His primary tool was his personal laptop, which is recognized for assisting the primary modern darknet market to be built on Bitcoin, with transactions valued at USD 28,305.
However, Ulbricht’s reign came to a halt on October 1, 2023, when his laptop was confiscated by the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In 2015, Ulbricht was convicted in a federal court for several charges related to Silk Road’s operations. His sentence constituted two life terms, on top of 40 years, leaving no room for parole. The court documents, on review, showed that during its operational period, Silk Road facilitated sales ranging to a whopping 9,519,664 Bitcoins, thereby earning a commission of 600,000 Bitcoins. At the time the court documents were made public, projections equalized sales to approximately $1.2 billion in sales and about $80 million in commissions.
Ulbricht’s case has not gone unnoticed amidst the sea of legal battles. A substantial number of supporters have echoed calls for Ulbricht to receive clemency. This plea is not only fueled by over 250 organizations backing them but also by half a million people who have signed a virtual petition to free Ulbricht. This support is no doubt majorly from the crypto enthusiast group and Bitcoin communities, reinforcing Ulbricht as a “Bitcoin political prisoner”.
While jingling the keys of support for Ulbricht’s release, some users counter this buzz with critical claims that the Silk Road founder was alleged to have hired hitmen, an accusation not officially charged to Ulbricht but nevertheless dangles over his narrative. This scepticism, coupled with the reality of Silk Road- a platform infamously known for aiding drug trade and sex trafficking, sparks fluctuating opinions of the amount of punishment Ulbricht deserves.
Counter arguments point towards our modern social platforms such as X and Facebook, alluding that illicit activities akin to those on Silk Road occur even on these mainstream platforms. Statistics published by a leading website, aimed at freeing Ulbricht, shows that the average serving time for others involved in Silk Road was around six years. This information stands in stark contrast with Ulbricht’s double life term, adding another layer to the contentious discourse surrounding Ulbricht’s sentence.
Source: Cointelegraph
