Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the now-defunct online black market Silk Road, recently marked a decade behind bars, having received a double life sentence from U.S. authorities in 2013. On October 2nd, Ulbricht shared on X that he has already spent a full ten years incarcerated and is filled with apprehension about spending the rest of his life “confined by concrete walls and locked doors.” He expressed that his only recourse at this point is to “pray for mercy.”
Silk Road, initiated in 2011 and managed by Ulbricht under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts,” is renowned as the pioneer of modern darknet markets. It featured a payment system rooted in Bitcoin (BTC). However, on October 1, 2023, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized Ulbricht’s laptop.
Ulbricht’s conviction in 2015 in a U.S. federal court encompassed a variety of charges linked to Silk Road’s operations. The verdict handed him two life sentences plus an additional forty years, with no chance of parole.
According to court records, Silk Road facilitated sales amounting to 9,519,664 Bitcoins (BTC) between February 2011 and July 2013, earning commissions totaling 600,000 Bitcoins (BTC). At the time of the court documents’ release, this translated to approximately $1.2 billion in sales and around $80 million in commissions.
Ulbricht’s case has garnered substantial attention, with numerous voices advocating for leniency for the website’s founder.
An organization dedicated to seeking justice for Ulbricht reported that over 250 organizations have endorsed these pleas, and half a million individuals have signed an online petition demanding his release. He has also garnered significant support from the cryptocurrency and Bitcoin communities.
While there is a substantial wave of support for Ulbricht, with many contending that his punishments were disproportionate, dissenting opinions persist.
One X user highlighted allegations from the prosecution suggesting that Ulbricht may have hired hitmen to commit murders, although this was never officially charged and remains an allegation.
Another user pointed out the illicit activities that transpired on the Silk Road platform, including sex trafficking and drug trade, and how it was exploited by unsavory individuals.
Debates continue online as Ulbricht’s supporters draw parallels between Silk Road and modern social media platforms like X and Facebook, asserting that similar activities occur on these platforms as well.
The primary website advocating for Ross’s release has shared sentences handed to other Silk Road associates, highlighting that the average sentence is around six years. Notably, the top drug seller on the site received only a seven-year prison term and is presently at liberty. Furthermore, the creators of Silk Road 2.0 have either served minimal sentences or up to 6.5 years and have since been released.