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President Donald Trump did not fulfill his campaign promise to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, a dark web marketplace that was shut down in 2013.
During his campaign for a second term, Trump promised that, if reelected, he would “commission Ross Ulbricht” on Day One.
Elon Musk Sparks Speculation About Trump’s Ulbricht Pardon
Last November, after Trump won the election, there were strong rumors that Trump would pardon Ulbricht on his first day in office. However, the conversation about a possible pardon for Ulbricht has not subsided.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk and Libertarian National Committee Chairwoman Angela McArdle have commented on the matter, sparking speculation that a pardon could be imminent.
“Ross will also be free,” speak Musk on Twitter.
McArdle, an active advocate in Ulbricht’s case, also shared confidence that Trump will deliver on his promises.
“Trump staff just confirmed to me that Ross’s pardon will be granted later tonight or tomorrow morning,” Angela McArdle wrote. post.
Ulbricht was convicted for his role in running the dark web marketplace Silk Road. The site facilitated the trade of drugs and other illegal goods using cryptocurrency. His case attracted great attention. Many have called for Ulbricht’s release, citing his lengthy sentence of two life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Although no official amnesty has been issued yet, the market strongly predicts that it will happen.
Prediction market platform Polymarket has now predicted with a 93% probability that Trump will pardon Ross Ulbricht within the first 100 days of his second term. Polymarket allows users to predict the outcomes of real events by buying and selling stocks.
Experts Split on Ulbricht’s Sentence
Ulbricht’s supporters said his sentence was excessive, especially considering his role in creating the platform and not directly participating in illegal activities.
Still, the developments come as Trump disappointed the cryptocurrency industry by not mentioning it in his initial priorities. But, cryptocurrency advocates are not worried about this non-mention, given Trump’s strong support in the past and his own meme coin projects.
The FBI shut down the Silk Road marketplace in 2013 and seized 69,370 Bitcoins. The tokens are currently worth more than 6 billion USD. There is an opinion that Trump could use this huge amount of BTC to fund a national Bitcoin reserve fund.
However, Biden authorized the sale of the funds last month before he left office.
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