Trump: If re-elected, Silk Road founder will be released

Author: Cheyenne Ligon, CoinDesk; Translator: Baishui, Golden Finance

Trump promised to commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbrich’s life sentence to time served if he is re-elected president.

“If you vote for me, on day one, I will commute Ross Ulbrich’s life sentence to time served,” Trump said Saturday evening during a speech at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C. “He’s served 11 years and we are bringing him home.”

Hours before making those comments, Trump praised the cryptocurrency industry on social media, writing on Truth Social:

“I am very positive and open to cryptocurrency companies and all things related to this emerging industry. Our Country must be a leader in this space,” Trump wrote, adding that President Joe Biden “wants (the cryptocurrency industry) to die a slow and painful death. That will never happen to me!”

“I am very positive and open to cryptocurrency companies and all things related to this emerging industry. Our Country must be a leader in this space,” Trump wrote, adding that President Joe Biden “wants (the cryptocurrency industry) to die a slow and painful death. That will never happen to me!”

Trump pledged to free Ulbricht during his evening address, drawing loud cheers from the crowd, many of whom held signs reading "Free Ross."

Ulbricht was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years in prison — effectively life in prison without parole — in 2015 for founding and operating Silk Road. The now-defunct darknet marketplace was used to anonymously buy and sell goods, but was primarily used for drugs. Silk Road operated from 2011 to 2013 and is widely considered to be the first real-world use case for Bitcoin.

Ulbricht has become a martyr for many in the crypto community, as well as many libertarians who see his harsh sentence as a government overreach and an infringement on his constitutional rights. In 2018, the Liberal Party called on then-President Trump to pardon Ulbricht.

Before Trump’s presidency ended in January 2021, he granted clemency to 143 people, pardoned 73, including Ripple board member Ken Kurson, and commuted the sentences of 70 others. He did not grant clemency to Ulbricht, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange or Edward Snowden, who published detailed information about the U.S.

Trump also made more general comments about cryptocurrencies at the convention, telling attendees he would “stop Joe Biden’s plan to crush cryptocurrencies — we’re going to stop it.”

“I’m going to make sure that the future of cryptocurrency and the future of Bitcoin is driven in America, not overseas. I’m going to support self-custody,” Trump said to cheers. "To the 50 million crypto holders across the country, I say this: I will keep Elizabeth Warren and her goons away from your Bitcoin, and I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency."

Trump has warmed up significantly to cryptocurrencies in recent months, making several public comments in support of cryptocurrencies and becoming the first major party presidential candidate to accept cryptocurrency donations.