How important Ross Ulbricht to the bitcoin community?

[Ziskinberg]

For those who truly understand his importance, feel free to share your insights. I notice a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon, treating Ross like some kind of hero. The reality is, this guy was convicted for running a platform involved in illegal drugs, weapons, and other unlawful activities, which led to him being sentenced to double life imprisonment plus an extra 40 years. Recently, he was pardoned by President Trump.

Given that, it’s clear he isn’t exactly the "good guy" some might think. But what’s interesting is why he remains so relevant today despite his past. Being relevant in this context likely means he has gained the love and support of many, with people donating millions to him. That level of support suggests there’s something about him that resonates deeply with others. It would be great to help the community understand what makes him so special now, even if his past actions paint a very different picture.

[Ambatman]

Because they believe Silk road depicted privacy and freedom. The first real free market, not to mention accepted Bitcoin as a means of payment.

[ABCbits]

Each persona have different reason. But some part of Bitcoin community view Ross's sentence is extremely severe, when compared with other criminal with similar crime. That makes them think or believe US government intentionally do that to disrupt Bitcoin reputation and usage.

[stadus]

It’s nothing personal, but it’s about Ross’s significant contribution to Bitcoin’s transaction system. The problem was, his platform was used for illegal activities. However, the sheer volume of transactions on Silk Road played a big role in making Bitcoin popular. Back then, the government didn’t see Bitcoin as something with future potential, they were against it because they couldn’t monitor the transactions. That’s why Ross ended up in jail, given his major role in Silk Road.

But those days are long gone. Silk Road is now part of Bitcoin’s history, and ironically, the US, which confiscated Bitcoin from back then, now benefits from its current value if they decide to sell it. In my opinion, the time Ross served is enough to pay for his mistakes. Now that Bitcoin is mostly used for legitimate transactions, it’s a sign of how far the space has evolved.

[Ammar M. A.]

I have a few questions for you.

1. Do you think the ones who gave him the money were old Bitcoin hodlers & people who got profit or changed their lives from Bitcoin itself?
2. Do you know what the butterfly effect is?


The community considers him valuable and important because of the actions he took in the past, without condoning the buy and sell of illegal goods or services there. He was one of the early pioneers, and he deserves support. I would like to add one more question for you.

1. Do you think that without Ross Ulbricht & his problems, Bitcoin would be where it's today? I'm talking about the price of Bitcoin.

- Ammar M. A.

[DeathAngel]

Silk Road was what onboarded a lot of early adopters to Bitcoin. What Ross ran was very important in the early days & we probably wouldn’t be where we are today without Silk Road. I don’t think today that he has any affect on the Bitcoin price or future of Bitcoin at all. But yes, we have to think of him fondly due to his work & efforts in the early days.

[Solosanz]

I don't really know exactly Silk Road is, but I think it's important because it's decentralized marketplace where it use Bitcoin as the payment (not sure which other currency they accept). So, it's a good combination, decentralized marketplace and decentralized currency.

Right now it's hard to find decentralized marketplace, even this forum not allow you to buy-sell drugs.

Given that, it’s clear he isn’t exactly the "good guy" some might think.

Yeah, Satoshi is also a bad guy because he created Bitcoin which he can't control of any coins he created. He's bad, he should able to freeze tainted coins from mixers, drugs, and high illicit activities.

[Russlenat]

Silk Road was what onboarded a lot of early adopters to Bitcoin. What Ross ran was very important in the early days & we probably wouldn’t be where we are today without Silk Road. I don’t think today that he has any affect on the Bitcoin price or future of Bitcoin at all. But yes, we have to think of him fondly due to his work & efforts in the early days.

This was the root of Bitcoin’s bad reputation back in the day when people associated it solely with illegal activities. But we can’t ignore the massive transactions happening in the market at that time, even though the US eventually shut it down. That didn’t stop Bitcoin, it had already proven itself as a decentralized asset with immense potential for transactions.

Fast forward to today, and we’re seeing big companies adopting Bitcoin. Its beginnings may not have been ideal, but the progress and development have been remarkable. And no matter how controversial it is, Ross Ulbricht deserves recognition as one of the key figures who help create more Bitcoin transactions with his platform.

[Z-tight]

I don't see Ross as a hero and i cannot tell you how important he is to the BTC community, it is also obvious that Ross committed a crime, but c'mon, the sentence he got was crazy and unfair. Did Ross deserve to go to jail? Yes, did he deserve two life sentences plus 40 years, hell no. I believe the reason why the BTC community is happy with the pardon is because the initial sentencing was more like the authorities condemning BTC because it was the currency used in the Silk Road.

[Japinat]

I don't see Ross as a hero and i cannot tell you how important he is to the BTC community, it is also obvious that Ross committed a crime, but c'mon, the sentence he got was crazy and unfair. Did Ross deserve to go to jail? Yes, did he deserve two life sentences plus 40 years, hell no.

It’s not unfair in the eyes of regulators, considering that his platform facilitated a lot of illegal transactions, everything from weapons to illegal drugs, and even, possibly, prostitution. All those activities thrived because of Silk Road, and without it, they likely wouldn’t have had the same reach.

Maybe the government now sees that Ross’s original intention was to create a free market, which aligns with the push for decentralization back then, away from the eyes of government control. But it got out of hand, and that’s why regulation became necessary. If we want Bitcoin to truly prosper, a level of oversight is unavoidable, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing now.

[Ziskinberg]

Given that, it’s clear he isn’t exactly the "good guy" some might think.

Yeah, Satoshi is also a bad guy because he created Bitcoin which he can't control of any coins he created. He's bad, he should able to freeze tainted coins from mixers, drugs, and high illicit activities.

You can't really compare the two because they’re totally different. Silk Road was an online marketplace on the dark web that was specifically designed for illegal activities and they used Bitcoin mainly to stay anonymous. The founder Ross was fully aware of what was going on and could have stopped the platform if he wanted to. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is just a currency, like fiat money that can be used for both legal and illegal purposes, so just like fiat currency, they regulate it to continue to be useful for legal transactions.

[Taskford]

I don't see Ross as a hero and i cannot tell you how important he is to the BTC community, it is also obvious that Ross committed a crime, but c'mon, the sentence he got was crazy and unfair. Did Ross deserve to go to jail? Yes, did he deserve two life sentences plus 40 years, hell no. I believe the reason why the BTC community is happy with the pardon is because the initial sentencing was more like the authorities condemning BTC because it was the currency used in the Silk Road.

That's really a big problem there since if we look at the situation what he facilitated for sure that people would know that he commit a crime for creating that platform where people is free to sell any illegal stuff by using his platform. That situation its punishable offense especially that he didn't regulate his platform well and he let those illegalities happen on his platform then also earn with it.

But if we look on other side where people seek about right to have freedom well I this is what they are looking for. And they already get what they want as Ulbricht now is a freeman.

But same as you I don't see him as a hero but somehow I think he already serve his sentence and deserve to get a pardon from Trump.

[o48o]

For those who truly understand his importance, feel free to share your insights. I notice a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon, treating Ross like some kind of hero. The reality is, this guy was convicted for running a platform involved in illegal drugs, weapons, and other unlawful activities, which led to him being sentenced to double life imprisonment plus an extra 40 years. Recently, he was pardoned by President Trump.

Given that, it’s clear he isn’t exactly the "good guy" some might think. But what’s interesting is why he remains so relevant today despite his past. Being relevant in this context likely means he has gained the love and support of many, with people donating millions to him. That level of support suggests there’s something about him that resonates deeply with others. It would be great to help the community understand what makes him so special now, even if his past actions paint a very different picture.

Those "unlawful activities" includes ordering and paying for murders through Redandwhite. There are ton of credible info about that, and compared to evidence of Luigi murdering CEO for example, those hired murders seems 100x more credible.

I have always wondered why bitcoiners lift notorious criminal men that are somehow only "victims of censorship" on a pedestal? Trump, Musk, McAffee, just because they are rich and bitcoin somehow needs their power? Seriously? What was wrong with sticking to Andreas Antonopoulos? Too hard to pronounce and too intelligent? Was the problem that he wasn't spoiled by money and that he was accused of zero rapes? Not everyone famous involved in crypto is good publicity. In fact these people are the ones who can do damage, that people don't want to associate with, for years to come.

Here's a nice little documentary for people praising Ross -> The dark side of the silk road

And here's some more interesting reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht#Court_proceedings

[franky1]

some think ross should never have gone to prison because they naively believe if people use bitcoin all crimes become unenforceable.. sorry but a crime is a crime no matter the currency used to facilitate the crime

some think ross only crime was using bitcoin and again think he should not have gone to prison simply for having alot of bitcoin and offering a marketplace that uses bitcoin.. sorry but he done some actual crimes unrelated to just using bitcoin, so did deserve prison
heck even trump is treating mexicans as criminal organisations that deserve punishment for facilitating drug deals, fake ID's and weapon sales. so even trump knows there are crimes unrelated to whatever currency was used, whether it was dollar or peso or crypto

however 2 life sentences +40years was extreme.(where the alleged hitmen suspicions were not judged) .. personally i feel if he was pardoned in trumps first presidency(2016) would have been too short of a sentence for running a drug den, weapons dealership and identity counterfeit shop. so the 12 years does seem appropriate time served and a lesson learned

[Callido]

Given that, it’s clear he isn’t exactly the "good guy" some might think.

Yeah, Satoshi is also a bad guy because he created Bitcoin which he can't control of any coins he created. He's bad, he should able to freeze tainted coins from mixers, drugs, and high illicit activities.

You can't really compare the two because they’re totally different. Silk Road was an online marketplace on the dark web that was specifically designed for illegal activities and they used Bitcoin mainly to stay anonymous. The founder Ross was fully aware of what was going on and could have stopped the platform if he wanted to. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is just a currency, like fiat money that can be used for both legal and illegal purposes, so just like fiat currency, they regulate it to continue to be useful for legal transactions.

I'm not going to stand in support of him, his actions were really brutal and for allowing such activities to parade under his watch means he enjoys and takes part in it.

If Satoshi truly a bad guy then maybe no one should continue making reference and dealing with what he created, back then Bitcoin was used for illegal activities and until now nothing has changed, scammers are still making use of Bitcoin for their illegal trade maybe every defaulter should be sent on same punishment as Ulbricht.

[ChiBitCTy]

Ross and Silk Road had a MASSIVE amount to do with the uprising of bitcoin.  I know a lot of people personally who found out about bitcoin from using Silk Road.   It showed that bitcoin had a place as a currency.  Now of course it wasn't in the "best light" so to speak, but here's what I'm still wondering..did Ross really put hits out on people. 

Also, what all was sold on Silk Road? I don't care about drugs and stuff like that, but what I'd have a real problem with is child porn, sex slaves etc..and I've heard he had stuff like that available for sale on the site, need confirmation though.  So, I'm a bit mixed on his release as I'm just not sure any of us know the truth or ever will.

[coupable]

Given that, it’s clear he isn’t exactly the "good guy" some might think. But what’s interesting is why he remains so relevant today despite his past. Being relevant in this context likely means he has gained the love and support of many, with people donating millions to him. That level of support suggests there’s something about him that resonates deeply with others. It would be great to help the community understand what makes him so special now, even if his past actions paint a very different picture.

I will agree with you that it is not worth all this hype and media momentum that Ross has received. I personally do not consider him a prisoner in any way, but I take into account two important facts that can explain the current state of enthusiasm in the crypto community; First, Ross was a real supporter of Bitcoin and was one of the first to use it as a primary payment system on his platform, which made the network more dynamic and active, supporting miners and the prosperity of the emerging market. Second, the mistakes he made are not worth all that time in prison. If Ross founded and managed a platform for suspicious products, the authorities did not prevent the platform’s users from continuing their activities after Ross was arrested, and today we have many platforms on the same network that provide more criminal services and we have not heard that the authorities intervened to stop them.

I agree with the need to release him as someone who spent a long time in prison that is not commensurate with the mistakes he made, but I am against making him a hero because he made it easy for drug dealers to distribute their goods.

[Alphakilo]

Each persona have different reason. But some part of Bitcoin community view Ross's sentence is extremely severe, when compared with other criminal with similar crime. That makes them think or believe US government intentionally do that to disrupt Bitcoin reputation and usage.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

There are so murders, and traffickers who are walking free but Ross's sentence as you pointed out so well was extremely severe. The intention to cause reputational damage to bitcoin and its adoption was counterproductive.

Thank goodness he is out and he's gotten support from the public. Let's hope he doesn't do something like the silk road again.

[Becassine]

Ross Ulbricht's grief was totally disproportionate. Sentencing a young man to life when, prior to the Silkroad affair, he had no criminal record, means that people can never change and that mistakes are unforgivable.

Ross Ulbricht wrote: as a young man, he believed that people should have the right and freedom to buy and sell whatever they wanted, even drugs. In prison he realized the damage drugs were doing and he changed his mind.

Given that he was no longer a danger to society, and that he had shown in prison that he was a good person, notably by raising funds with his art for the children of prisoners, it was important that he be released. Life in prison is a kind of slow death, a nightmare.

He's going down in bitcoin history, not in the best way no doubt, but this time he's got big things to achieve, no doubt because he's an intelligent person. He was probably overwhelmed by his platform, had ideals that, when confronted with reality, made an explosive cocktail.

Those who think he deserved to stay in prison have probably never made a mistake in their lives.

[Saint-loup]

Yes I agree it's not the best example to represent the crypto universe and the Bitcoin community, it would have been better if Bitcoin would have been traded for less harmful goods and services at the beginning. Unfortunately Bitcoin has became famous for that thanks to large dark markets, the one from Ross Ulbricht, Silk road especially, and now it has a bad reputation since many years, even if it is not used for that anymore. But enemies of it and regulators don't care about it and still use its bad reputation against itself sadly.