The Silk Road Film has been released - shows what happened on this forum 2 catch

[DooMAD]

Bitcoin is not and was never usefull for criminals

Never?  Are you some sort of puritanical zealot?  Your unqualified use of absolute statements is adorable, but misguided.  Any form of transferable value can be useful for people looking to break the law.  If I've met people who have used Bitcoin for buying recreational substances on the darkweb, then your argument must be false.  You're living in a dream world if you think no one has ever done that. 

BTC is not Bitcoin. Bitcoin is desgined to be cash and money. BTC is also not cash nor money.

Oh right, I remember now, you're one of those faketoshi-worshipping forkcoiners.  Best of luck with your feeble attempts to spread Craig Scammer Wright propaganda.

And everyone is crying about bitcoin but doesn't get that it is the opposite of illegal and it doesn't allow criminal activities.

It neither allows nor disallows criminal behaviour.  It remains neutral.  You can't ascribe morality to it, despite your best efforts.

[wxa7115]

I don't know why I sense that bitcoin will be shown as an evil in this movie! Probably yes! Probably not! I can see only one mention of Bitcoin in the trailer but I really hope it doesn't show bitcoin in negative light. The trailer is already popular with 62k views but the problem is, bitcoin can be shown as an evil money which connected the dots with silk road and its customers.

Not good! Especially at this time when bitcoin has started generating a lot of interest among the corporates!

That is a given, we know that bitcoin is going to be portrayed in a bad light, after all if it was not because of the existence of a decentralized currency that is pseudonymous then Silk Road would have been impossible.

However we must remember that no publicity is bad publicity, if there are people not aware that something like bitcoin exists this is a great and cheap way for those people to discover bitcoin, and whether they want to come to this market because of curiosity or their desire to make money this plays in our favour regardless of how bitcoin is portrayed.

[Sithara007]

That is a given, we know that bitcoin is going to be portrayed in a bad light, after all if it was not because of the existence of a decentralized currency that is pseudonymous then Silk Road would have been impossible.

However we must remember that no publicity is bad publicity, if there are people not aware that something like bitcoin exists this is a great and cheap way for those people to discover bitcoin, and whether they want to come to this market because of curiosity or their desire to make money this plays in our favour regardless of how bitcoin is portrayed.

I have watched the movie and it is not as bad as the IMDB ratings would indicate. I found the portrayal of Ross Ulbricht more or less neutral. You can't expect anymore than this from the Hollywood, or else the FBI won't allow the movie to be released. And I disagree with the second part. Now we should strive for positive publicity. Because nowadays Bitcoin is well known all across the globe and the majority of the world population have heard about BTC.

[Wind_FURY]

Took me 2-3 days to find enough spare time to complete watching this movie. I am impressed with the filmmakers for giving an accurate picture of Ross Ulbricht. Ross was not a drug peddler or a scammer. He never cared about money. All he wanted was to stand up for his Libertarian political beliefs and create marketplace where anything can be purchased anonymously. This is not the picture FBI want you to believe. The FBI want you to believe that Ross was a hardcore criminal, who wanted to flood the US with drugs.

I was worried that the movie would miss this important aspect of the “DPR persona”. Here’s an interview with him published in Forbes Magazine, https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/08/14/an-interview-with-a-digital-drug-lord-the-silk-roads-dread-pirate-roberts-qa/?sh=6d2562b05732

He was a believer of a true free market, with very minimal state interference.

At it's core, Silk Road is a way to get around regulation from the state. If they say we can't buy and sell certain things, we'll do it anyway and suffer no abuse from them. But the state tries to control nearly every aspect of our lives, not just drug use. Anywhere they do that, there is an opportunity to live your life as you see fit despite their efforts.

I'm hesitant to specifically declare the direction we'll take next but let me give you a couple of examples. Firearms and ammunition are becoming more and more regulated and controlled in many parts of the world. We actually had a site up called "The Armory" at one point that specialized in the sale of small arms that ultimately was unsuccessful, but if we can find a model that works where people can get the equipment they need to defend themselves and their families despite what the state wants and often in defense of the state itself, I would be more than happy to provide that.
Also, any place the State places large tariffs or taxes, there is an opportunity to circumvent their blockades. Consumer electronics are much more expensive than they need to be in many parts of the world, for example.

...

I regards to the bolded part, I think there are certain places where the use of dangerous weapons should be limited or prevented.. places where there is high possibility of abuse of such weapons especially for mass killings/destructions and serious crimes. In places where they are allowed, the users should be willing to take responsibility for their misused/abused

By the way, I would prefer a society where non-lethal weapons that are as effective and fast as certain lethal weapons are mostly allowed.

In my opinion, it’s debatable. Criminals/malicious actors would always have access to dangerous weapons regardless of State Restrictions, or not. Then why not give the normal citizens fair access to the same weapons for self-defense?

It’s like Bitcoin, the state can “weaponize” the financial system against you. Bitcoin is the equalizer.

[rdbase]

I don't know why I sense that bitcoin will be shown as an evil in this movie! Probably yes! Probably not! I can see only one mention of Bitcoin in the trailer but I really hope it doesn't show bitcoin in negative light. The trailer is already popular with 62k views but the problem is, bitcoin can be shown as an evil money which connected the dots with silk road and its customers.

Not good! Especially at this time when bitcoin has started generating a lot of interest among the corporates!

That is a given, we know that bitcoin is going to be portrayed in a bad light, after all if it was not because of the existence of a decentralized currency that is pseudonymous then Silk Road would have been impossible.

However we must remember that no publicity is bad publicity, if there are people not aware that something like bitcoin exists this is a great and cheap way for those people to discover bitcoin, and whether they want to come to this market because of curiosity or their desire to make money this plays in our favour regardless of how bitcoin is portrayed.

It was let's say, an interesting take on the events which took place from all the documentaries and shows I have watched trying to unravel what had transpired over the course of the silk road and it's undeniable demise on that faithful day in a San Francisco library where the takedown took place.

After watching it I didn't see them slander on bitcoin but kind of half heartedly just said "This is bitcoin and this is what we are going to use as our untraceable payment gateway so to not get caught!"
But it didn't necessarily, atleast to me, try their hardest to make the audience believe bitcoin was and is evil.
They simply put forward it was the process used to get to their final product out to their customers inorder so to fulfill those business transactions.
It could of been another form of payment put in place of the film and the audience wouldn't have batted an eye to it.

[rdbase]

With the release of this film done and dusted and I believe available on most streaming media channels as of now.
Those who have viewed the film, what are your thoughts to their depiction of Ross and the events which ensued to his inevitable arrest by the end?
As I would imagine there have been several people who were and still are on these forums who have had direct contact thrown back and forth. But those would have probably been surrendered to the fbi during the case and enviable trial of the dreaded pirate roberts.

[aysg76]

I have not watched this film at current but surely will be willing to watch it very soon due to vast events connected with Silk Road an unregulated market place which eventually became a place for drug dealings using decentralised currency Bitcoin.But was it the main aim of Ross Ulbricht? He was one who proposed the idea of Silk road and soon it became illicit activities center hub.The DEA agent Rick Bowden eventually pin down Ross for his crimes.It will be interesting to watch how the main actors Nick Robinson (Ross) and Jason Clarke (Rick) would portray the character to general public as sometimes villians portray positive vibes to the user.So it would be interesting to watch how Tiller Russel directed the movie and series of events happened after 2011.

[androyster]

I have not watched this film at current but surely will be willing to watch it very soon due to vast events connected with Silk Road an unregulated market place which eventually became a place for drug dealings using decentralised currency Bitcoin.But was it the main aim of Ross Ulbricht? He was one who proposed the idea of Silk road and soon it became illicit activities center hub.The DEA agent Rick Bowden eventually pin down Ross for his crimes.It will be interesting to watch how the main actors Nick Robinson (Ross) and Jason Clarke (Rick) would portray the character to general public as sometimes villians portray positive vibes to the user.So it would be interesting to watch how Tiller Russel directed the movie and series of events happened after 2011.

IMHO, the movie sucks.  They even start it out saying that most of what they portray is made up.  It's a ridiculous movie that barely touches the truth.

[icopress]

Ross Ulbricht ^[1]

I put Silk Road on the Tor network about 10 years ago. I’ve been thinking about what was going through the mind of my 26-year-old self back then in 2011.

It looks like Ross is doing well since he uses Twitter regularly, ^{[I'll try to find out his opinion on this film]}. The film itself, by the way, is pretty good, despite some inaccuracies, and if you do not take into account drugs, then Claude Shannon would highly appreciate his work, (If he was alive). After all, who knows what value Bitcoin would have now had it not been for the Silk Road.

[rdbase]

Ross Ulbricht ^[1]

I put Silk Road on the Tor network about 10 years ago. I’ve been thinking about what was going through the mind of my 26-year-old self back then in 2011.

It looks like Ross is doing well since he uses Twitter regularly, ^{[I'll try to find out his opinion on this film]}. The film itself, by the way, is pretty good, despite some inaccuracies, and if you do not take into account drugs, then Claude Shannon would highly appreciate his work, (If he was alive). After all, who knows what value Bitcoin would have now had it not been for the Silk Road.

Interesting what you have said about what Ross would be saying about a film about what has claimed is life is living like now in prison.
Wasn't he sposse to be one of the ones trump was going to pardon if he did stay in office?
But I fully agree with your last statement;
Bitcoin would not be where it is today without having the silk road paving it's path to greatness.
Thank you Sir Dreaded Pirate Roberts!
I commend you where ever you end up in this world.

[3meek]

I really liked the book about the cyber criminal, but didn't like this movie, which I expected more from! It's very strange that Dread Pirate Roberts' helpers are not covered in the movie...
Also the movie didn't cover the main reason for catching Ross Ulbricht - his E-mail...
In general the plot seemed to me to be as compressed as possible...

[MatchPS]

Awh the old and simple times of Bitcoin 

[Kittygalore]

I really liked the book about the cyber criminal, but didn't like this movie, which I expected more from! It's very strange that Dread Pirate Roberts' helpers are not covered in the movie...
Also the movie didn't cover the main reason for catching Ross Ulbricht - his E-mail...
In general the plot seemed to me to be as compressed as possible...

You will be disappointed if you expect something out of a movie that has a limited time that they need to fit all the more important parts, the reason that they might not have added the helpers is that it doesn't evoke any sensational feeling in the movie.

[Coyster]

IMHO, the movie sucks.  They even start it out saying that most of what they portray is made up.  

That surely can't be counted as a negative thing about the movie, cause you ought to know that even when a movie, book, etc wants to convey or portray a real event or something of that sort, every bit of it can't be non-fictional, the director or author must bring in fictional/made up events as well, and mix them with the true story, making it thus more entertaining and appealing to watch.

Having said that, by the comments in this thread, it's clear quite a lot of people do not appreciate the movie for one personal reason or the other which is clearly understandable and subjective, I'll take out time to see the movie so I'd give my own review on it.

[rdbase]

source: https://www.engadget.com/twitter-bitcoin-hacker-three-years-prison-055216121.html

So this kid who hacked into all those twitter accounts to cyphen out $173k worth in bitcoins and comprimising a massive social media platform costing them millions in a PR mess only gets 3 years in prison while Dread pirate roberts gets life?
Ahhh okay.

[icopress]

So this kid who hacked into all those twitter accounts to cyphen out $173k worth in bitcoins and comprimising a massive social media platform costing them millions in a PR mess only gets 3 years in prison while Dread pirate roberts gets life?

You forget that the US justice system treats ordinary proceedings differently and proceedings that are of a political nature. And the Ross Ulbricht case was one of those times when the government wanted to show strength in the fight against drugs. Although in most cases such a "war on drugs" does not give visible results, I believe this high-profile case promised someone high-ranking positions (in the sense that, covering one channel for the distribution of prohibited substances, another immediately appears). So Ross, by and large, is just a hostage of the situation.

[PointHope]

So this kid who hacked into all those twitter accounts to cyphen out $173k worth in bitcoins and comprimising a massive social media platform costing them millions in a PR mess only gets 3 years in prison while Dread pirate roberts gets life?

You forget that the US justice system treats ordinary proceedings differently and proceedings that are of a political nature. And the Ross Ulbricht case was one of those times when the government wanted to show strength in the fight against drugs. Although in most cases such a "war on drugs" does not give visible results, I believe this high-profile case promised someone high-ranking positions (in the sense that, covering one channel for the distribution of prohibited substances, another immediately appears). So Ross, by and large, is just a hostage of the situation.

Prohibition is government criminal enterprise.
Without prohibition there would be no drug cartels.
The Silk Road story is proof of FBI criminal activity.
The war on drugs is us goverment war crime against all humanity.
The social damage done globally over the past 50+ years is impossible to calculate.

[Sithara007]

So this kid who hacked into all those twitter accounts to cyphen out $173k worth in bitcoins and comprimising a massive social media platform costing them millions in a PR mess only gets 3 years in prison while Dread pirate roberts gets life?
Ahhh okay.

In case of Graham Ivan Clark, I guess the punishment was just. He was 17-years old at the time of the crime and spending 3 years behind bars is going to be a harrowing experience for him. On the other hand, Ross Ulbricht got two consecutive life terms (plus another 40 years) without any chance of parole, for setting up an online market place. As icopress explained, the decision to handout such a harsh punishment was a political decision.

[rdbase]

So this kid who hacked into all those twitter accounts to cyphen out $173k worth in bitcoins and comprimising a massive social media platform costing them millions in a PR mess only gets 3 years in prison while Dread pirate roberts gets life?

You forget that the US justice system treats ordinary proceedings differently and proceedings that are of a political nature. And the Ross Ulbricht case was one of those times when the government wanted to show strength in the fight against drugs. Although in most cases such a "war on drugs" does not give visible results, I believe this high-profile case promised someone high-ranking positions (in the sense that, covering one channel for the distribution of prohibited substances, another immediately appears). So Ross, by and large, is just a hostage of the situation.

Truth told there Icopress!

Just look at the recent release of Julian Assange and how he basically had to plea bargain to gain his release from the US government's laws imposed upon him over a decade ago back in 2012.

Remember that he and Ulbricht were the first ones to create websites that accepted bitcoin.

Although Julian's plight was against Visa, Mastercard and paypal stopped accepting payments to the wikileaks site:
https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/24/06/39498400/heres-how-much-bitcoin-has-surged-since-julian-assanges-wikileaks-took-refuge-in-the-crypt

Now his family are raising funds to him via bitcoin:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/06/25/julian-assanges-family-is-raising-funds-for-him-with-bitcoin

[rdbase]

So it wasn't entirely clear yesterday why there were donations coming in for Assange.
But was soon found out it was due to the bill charged by the US government for a lone flight charted for Mr. Assange to fly back to his home country of Australia.
His wife put up a bitcoin address to see if anybody will help with this rather astronomical expense far a man who has not working for over a decade while being under arrest in a foreign country.

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/anonymous-donor-pays-500000-bitcoin-julian-assanges-freedom-flight

Someone donated 8 BTC for Julian to fly back home:

source: https://cryptobriefing.com/bitcoin-whale-donation-assange


https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1805907651701711116