He was convicted of several charges in 2015, including drug trafficking and money laundering, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. While the FBI deemed Ulbricht a criminal, his supporters amongst crypto and Libertarian circles thought otherwise, minting him a hero instead. At the time, rare use of Bitcoin to buy and sell items on Silk Road earned the robust respect of crypto crowds.

President Trump has followed through on one of his key campaign promises — at least for those in the crypto community — pardoning the sentence of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. "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 so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross," Trump wrote on a Truth Social post.

In a Truth Social post, Mr. Trump said that it was “his pleasure” to sign “a full and unconditional pardon.” “The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern-day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!” Mr. Trump wrote.