Bitcoin Pumps As Trump Grants Full, Unconditional Pardon To Silk Road's Ross Ulbricht

Bitcoin soared Tuesday night after President Donald Trump confirmed that he has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder and operator of darknet website Silk Road, which was shut down for illegal activity among users.

BTC was up nearly 5% in the day and was trading above $105,000 Tuesday night following Trump's announcement on his Truth Social account. Earlier in the day, Bitcoin plunged as low as $101,000.

Other cryptocurrencies also appeared to be celebrating the news, with Ethereum climbing over 2%, Solana (SOL) adding 6%, TRON (TRX) increasing by 4.6%, and Chainlink (LINK) outperforming other major digital currencies with an 8.6% pump.

Bitcoiners Celebrate Ulbricht's Freedom

Trump made the announcement regarding Ulbricht's pardon Tuesday, on his second day as the 47^th U.S. president.

"I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross," he wrote.

Trump also called out the "lunatics" who convicted Ulbricht, saying they were the same people who were involved in "modern day weaponization of government against me."

On X, where many crypto users engage and discuss developments in the industry, celebrations were underway.

The Free Ross movement's official X handle confirmed the news shortly, expressing gratitude to the new president for keeping his promise of freeing Ulbricht, who started his 12^th year behind bars late last year.

Anthony Pompliano, a prominent figure in the crypto space, said he expects the Trump administration to now push through with a strategic Bitcoin reserve after Ulbricht was pardoned.

Well-followed Bitcoiner Vijay Boyapati explained why "old timers care so much about Ross Ulbricht," noting how the Silk Road creator was known for embodying "the ethos of early Bitcoin more than anyone."

What Happens to Ulbricht Now?

One Bitcoiner made a significant point in his celebratory post. "Do not disappoint the world community on your new freedoms. Good citizenship comes with obligation," the user reminded Ulbricht.

While it remains unclear what Ulbricht plans to do after he officially steps out of prison, but in mid-September, his X handle, which has been maintained by his mother since his imprisonment, had the following statement: "I want to use the hard lessons I've learned to make amends as a free man, if I'm given the chance."

In 2021, Bitcoin Magazine was able to speak with Ulbricht through a phone call. The call's recording was played during Bitcoin 2021. In the said call, he spoke about how Bitcoin made him feel like "anything is possible."

He also talked about what it meant to lose one's freedom. He also said sorry to all Bitcoiners. "I'm sorry. I was trying to make us move to a more equitable world," he said of his Silk Road creation. "We all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions, right? And now I'm in hell," he added.

Before getting pardoned by Trump, Ulbricht was set to serve two life sentences without the possibility for parole. He was convicted in relation to his creation and operation of the Silk Road darkweb marketplace, where users sold weapons and other facilitated illegal activities.

Silk Road also used Bitcoin for transactions. It was considered the first "real" use case for the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency. Over 50,000 in BTC was siphoned from the site by James Zhong in 2012. The Bitcoins were later seized by the U.S. Justice Department.