"What contributions did Ross Ulbricht make to Bitcoin?"
From the translated version: Cheshire | Crypto+AI Plus @0xCheshire
Musk just indicated on Twitter that dark web Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht would receive a presidential pardon.
What crime did this man actually commit?
• He launched the largest Bitcoin market when Bitcoin was only 0.50 dollars.
• 200,000 bitcoins were seized by the government.
• Serving two life sentences
Let's take a look at his legendary story:
1 "Silk Road"
Ross Ulbricht created Silk Road in 2011.
Statistics show that 18% of drug buyers completed transactions through this platform.
It accounted for 90% of the global Bitcoin transaction volume at the time.
2 "Bitcoin Payments"
Silk Road was a market where almost anything could be bought and sold. By 2012, the platform's annual transaction volume reached 24 million dollars.
The platform only accepted Bitcoin as a payment method.
At the time, calculating at a Bitcoin price of 12 dollars, this equated to 2 million bitcoins per year‼️
3 "Various Services"
There were hundreds of active sellers on Silk Road.
The platform offered various services such as customer support, inventory management, IT technical support, marketing, quality control, and supply chain management.
All fees for these services were paid in Bitcoin.
4 "Silk Road Club"
Ross Ulbricht is an idealist, not a merchant pursuing money.
Silk Road even had its own book club, discussing Austrian economics and organizing readings of Hayek and Mises' works.
His goal was to educate more people through this platform.
5 "Civil Rights"
Ross's dream was to return power to the people...
...liberate people from the control of the state.
He viewed Silk Road as an important tool for achieving freedom and empowering citizens ✊
6 "End the Federal Reserve Monopoly"
Ross also believed that Bitcoin could prevent the "covert looting" caused by inflation...
...and ultimately end the Federal Reserve's monopoly.
Even when some politicians at the time tried to use Silk Road as an excuse to completely ban Bitcoin, Ross still insisted on promoting Bitcoin.
He believed this was itself ironclad evidence of the failure of the existing regulatory system.
7 "Arrested"
When Ross was arrested, his personal wallet was seized by the government.
Among them were more than 144,000 bitcoins.
This made Ross one of the largest holders in Bitcoin network history.
When Ross's parents and family raised 1 million dollars for his bail, the judge rejected their request.
Ross spent the first 6 weeks in solitary confinement.
His cell looked like this:
Ross's case sparked widespread discussion on the Internet.
Should a website owner be responsible for the users and their actions?
Many experts worry that this precedent might hinder the emergence of the next Taobao, Xianyu, or Amazon.
Nevertheless, the prosecutor still imposed the harshest sentence on Ross—two life sentences plus 40 years in prison.
No chance of parole.
This effectively amounted to sentencing Ross to death.
Even while imprisoned, Ross indirectly promoted the popularity of Bitcoin.
The U.S. government auctioned off the bitcoins he held, an event that became a significant moment in the mainstreaming of the Bitcoin industry.
It was seen as a landmark event, with the U.S. government acknowledging the legitimacy of this industry to some extent.
However, Ross's trial process was far from fair.
During this time, DEA agents investigating the case stole 80,000 bitcoins.
Worse still, Ross didn't even have the opportunity to call his own witnesses at the trial.
In the following years, Ross's case inspired supporters in the Bitcoin community and beyond.
A few years ago, Fox News reporter Lisa Kennedy expressed her views clearly:
"Ross simply allowed willing adults to trade freely."
In 2021, Ross was invited to deliver a keynote speech via prison video at the Bitcoin conference in Miami.
In his speech, he talked about his case and life experiences.
The severity and injustice of his conviction shocked everyone.
End
Today, Republican President Donald Trump stated that he would reduce Ross's sentence and release him.
Musk proved this on Twitter.
This means Ross would soon regain his freedom.
Many people believe that Silk Road is "one of the most important contributions to harm reduction in the history of drug distribution."
By anonymizing this violent trade, Ross saved countless lives.
What do you think of Ross Ulbricht? Feel free to leave your thoughts.
