Yesterday, US President Donald Trump granted pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the infamous Silk Road marketplace after serving 12 years in jail.
According to previous reports, Ulbricht was arrested back in 2013 and sentenced in 2015 to life without parole for his role in running a dark web platform.
Many had long waited for this pardon. In fact, crypto advocates see it as a sign that Trump is now keeping his promises to the space. And the reason why people anticipated this is because Silk Road was one of the first places that used Bitcoin for anonymous transactions, which made Bitcoin more popular at the time.
Now, his pardon has brought people to wonder if this pardon would turn out to change the perception of Bitcoin as a tool for committing crime.
Ulbricht’s supporters have long argued that his life sentence was unjust, particularly given that his platform enabled transactions using cryptocurrency but did not directly engage in criminal activities.
“The reason the community is so concerned with Ross’s plight… was the way in which his political persecution by the state was carried out,” said Mati Greenspan, the founder of Quantum Economics. Greenspan and others believe Ulbricht was subjected to a harsh sentence because he was one of the first to adopt the use of cryptocurrency.
Harry Halpin, the CEO of Nym Technologies, said that Ulbricht is more than just a controversial figure. “Over the years, Ross has worked his way into our hearts, becoming more like a close relative,” said Halpin.
For many in the crypto space, Ulbricht’s case represents the fight for freedom and the proof of how early crypto pioneers were targeted by the government.
Bitcoin has changed a lot since the days of Silk Road, but Ulbricht’s pardon brought back discussions on Bitcoin’s public image. Lucien Bourdon, a Bitcoin expert at Trezor, feels the pardon could change how people view Bitcoin.
“Ulbricht’s case is often seen as emblematic of perceived state overreach,” Bourdon said. He hopes the pardon will help people see Bitcoin as an opportunity and not a tool linked to crime.
But not all analysts believe Ulbricht’s pardon will have a lasting impact on Bitcoin’s reputation. “I don’t think that his pardon will have any significant impact on how Bitcoin is viewed by the general public,” said Greenspan. However, he said that the pardon could result in more pro-crypto legislation in the U.S.
Ulbricht’s release coincided with a US court’s decision to overturn sanctions on the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency mixing protocol, a move seen as another sign of a possible shift toward more privacy-supporting regulations in the US.
Halpin, who was initially skeptical of Trump’s commitment to crypto, said, “The question now is whether Trump will pardon Edward Snowden next… we will soon find out how serious Trump truly is about supporting crypto.”
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