Ross Ulbricht

Ross Ulbricht is the creator of Silk Road, the anonymous darknet marketplace that operated from 2011 to 2013 and facilitated the trade of narcotics and other illegal goods using Bitcoin. He was arrested by the FBI in October 2013 and convicted in 2015 of charges including narcotics distribution, money laundering, and computer hacking, receiving two life sentences plus 40 years without parole. After serving over 11 years in federal prison, he was granted a full and unconditional pardon by President Donald Trump on January 21, 2025. He is now free and has begun speaking at libertarian and crypto conferences on topics including freedom, prison reform, and decentralization.