The founding father of the previous on-line black market Silk Street, Ross Ulbricht, marked 10 years behind bars after he was given a double life sentence by United States authorities in 2013.
On Oct. 2 Ulbricht posted on X that he has already spent a full decade in jail and fears he’ll spend the rest of his life “behind concrete partitions and locked doorways.” He stated all he can do now could be “pray for mercy.”
One yr for every finger on each fingers.
Immediately ends a full decade in jail.
I typically worry I will spend the remainder of my life behind concrete partitions and locked doorways. However I’ve nobody else in charge. It is my poor selections that led me right here.
All I can do now could be pray for mercy.
— Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) October 1, 2023
Silk Street started in 2011 and was run and operated by Ulbricht from his private laptop computer beneath the username “Dread Pirate Roberts.” It is called the primary trendy darknet market and had a fee system constructed on Bitcoin (BTC).
Nevertheless, on Oct. 1, 2023, the laptop computer was seized by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 in federal court docket within the U.S. for numerous fees referring to the operations of the Silk Street. He was sentenced to 2 life phrases, plus forty years and no risk of parole.
In keeping with the court docket paperwork for the case, whereas in operation the Silk Street website facilitated gross sales amounting to 9,519,664 Bitcoins (BTC) between February 2011 and July 2013, and took a fee of 600,000 Bitcoins (BTC).
On the time of publication of the court docket paperwork, this equaled roughly $1.2 billion in gross sales and round $80 million in commissions.
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Ulbricht’s case has acquired widespread consideration, with many echoing requires the web site’s founder to be proven clemency.
In keeping with a web site combating for justice for Ulbricht, over 250 organizations have backed these calls and half 1,000,000 folks have signed a digital petition to free Ulbricht. He has additionally discovered nice help among the many crypto and Bitcoin communities.
Almost makes me cry to see this publish, the punishment didn’t go well with the crime and individuals who have finished a lot worse have had an opportunity of redemption, #freeross
— Soberclown.eth (@bitcoinnz) October 2, 2023
One consumer went as far as to deem Ulbricht as a “Bitcoin political prisoner” and stated he’s somebody Bitcoiners can always remember.
Ross Ulbricht is a Bitcoin political prisoner.
He has been in jail since 2013.
Some would like we overlook him, however Bitcoiners by no means will.
—
Ross was sentenced by the federal authorities to 2 life sentences + 40 years with no parole.
As a first-time offender and convicted… pic.twitter.com/usPlbN79j1
— Phree ☢️ (@BitPhree) September 30, 2023
Whereas there’s a highly effective swell of help for Ulbricht and plenty of web customers have voiced settlement that the punishments given to the Silk Street founder have been unjust, there are others who see the result in a different way.
One X consumer identified that the prosecution within the case towards Ulbricht claimed that he allegedly employed hitmen to have a number of folks killed, although this wasn’t formally charged to Ulbricht and nonetheless stays a declare.
Is homicide for rent legalized but or no. Looks like the lede was buried a bit on this intro.
— Rob Freund (@RobertFreundLaw) October 2, 2023
One other consumer highlighted what truly occurred on the Silk Street website, together with intercourse trafficking and the drug commerce, and the way it was utilized by “horrible folks to do that stuff.”
Silk street offered medication, human trafficking and different issues. Let’s not fake prefer it wasn’t utilized by horrible folks to do that stuff. That being stated I am certain that is not how he supposed it for use
— shoooooooo (@shoooiiiii) October 2, 2023
Debates on-line proceed as Ulbricht defenders level to trendy social media platforms corresponding to X and Fb, saying, “All of these issues occur on [X] as effectively. And each different social media website.”
The main web site devoted to liberating Ross has posted the sentences dealt to others concerned with the Silk Street saying that the common sentence is round six years. The highest drug vendor on the positioning was solely given seven years in jail and is at present free.
Moreover, the creators of the Silk Street 2.0 have both served nothing or as much as 6.5 years and are actually all free.
Journal: $3.4B of Bitcoin in a popcorn tin: The Silk Street hacker’s story
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