Technically, Donald Trump broke his marketing campaign promise by not releasing Silk Street founder Ross Ulbricht on day one in all his presidency. (No, inauguration day is just not “day zero.”) However as I defined in my previous Take, I wasn’t anticipating a literal first day pardon anyhow. Even day two exceeds my expectations. Trump delivered, and I’m very glad he did.
Once I first heard about Silk Street in early 2013, I used to be instantly intrigued by the idea of shopping for and promoting medication anonymously on-line. To this present day, I feel darknet markets are the perfect middleman step earlier than the conflict on medication is ended: It removes sellers from road corners whereas offering customers some stage of high quality assurance via a public ranking system.
Discovering Silk Street was additionally how I first discovered about Bitcoin. I began writing in regards to the digital forex a number of months later, and am nonetheless at it at present. In a manner, I owe my profession to Ulbricht.
That Ulbricht was sentenced to spend the remainder of his life in jail was a miscarriage of justice for my part. Even when you imagine he’s responsible of all the things he’s been convicted of (all non-violent crimes), over a decade behind bars must be lengthy sufficient.
To make certain, I don’t imagine Trump truly cares about Ulbricht; he may have freed him throughout his first time period if that was the case. And Trump actually has no intent of ending the conflict on medication; if something, he’s about to escalate it by designating cartels to be terrorist organizations and imposing the death penalty on drug dealers. Trump promised to pardon Ulbricht as a result of that might profit him politically — however to his credit score, he saved his phrase.
Ross is lastly free. Properly performed President Trump, and everybody else who helped make this occur.
This text is a Take. Opinions expressed are completely the writer’s and don’t essentially replicate these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.