Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who had been serving a double life sentence without parole, publicly thanked US President Donald Trump after receiving a full pardon.
This marked the first time Ulbricht had spoken publicly since being released from a maximum-security prison in Arizona, where he was held for more than 11 years.
“Last night, Donald Trump granted me a full pardon. I was doing life without parole, and I was locked up for more than 11 years. But he let me out. I’m a free man now. So let it be known that Donald Trump is a man of his word,” Ulbricht said in a video shared on X on Jan. 23.
Ulbricht expressed gratitude, calling the pardon “an amazing blessing.” He added:
“Thank you so much, President Trump, for giving me this amazing blessing. I am so, so grateful to have my life back, to have my future back, to have this second chance. This is such an important moment for me and for my whole family.”
Since his release, a page dedicated to supporting Ulbricht on X, Free_Ross, shared:
“Thanks to Donald Trump’s pardon, Ross got to hug his wife, mom, dad & sister outside the walls of prison. The past 36 hours have been a complete whirlwind and we keep pinching ourselves to make sure we’re not dreaming.”
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Life after prison
Ulbricht, 40, was convicted in 2015 for his role in creating and operating Silk Road, a darknet marketplace that facilitated the anonymous trade of illicit goods using Bitcoin (BTC).
Since the pardon, supporters have rallied to help him transition into life outside prison. A wallet linked to the Free Ross campaign has received over $270,000 in Bitcoin donations. Among the contributors is the crypto exchange Kraken, which donated $111,111. Other donations included $2,400 in Ether (ETH), $900 in Solana (SOL), $200 in Cardano (ADA), and smaller amounts in BNB (BNB) and Dogecoin (DOGE).
“It feels amazing to be free, to say the least,” Ulbricht said, adding that he plans to spend time with his family and heal from his years of incarceration. “This is a victory […] for everybody everywhere who loves freedom and who cares about second chances.”
Millions in dormant Bitcoin wallets
While supporters have donated generously, Ulbricht may already have millions of dollars in Bitcoin.
Conor Grogan, a director at Coinbase, revealed that 430 BTC worth about $47 million remain untouched in wallets likely linked to Ulbricht. These wallets, dormant for more than 13 years, were not confiscated by authorities.
“I found ~430 BTC across dozens of wallets associated with Ross Ulbricht that were not confiscated by the [US government] and have been untouched for 13+ years,” Grogan posted on X.
Arkham Intelligence corroborated Grogan’s findings, identifying 14 Bitcoin addresses linked to Silk Road, including one wallet containing over $9 million in BTC.
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