Trump pardons Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, keeping a pledge he made while courting the crypto industry
Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road dark-web marketplace, on his second day back in office.
What happened
Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 of narcotics distribution, criminal enterprise, computer-hacking conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy, and was serving life without parole. Trump had promised the clemency at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention, in the same speech in which he pledged to support the crypto industry, as his campaign had begun accepting donations in crypto (The Block). Pro-crypto super PACs put over $133 million into the 2024 election (OpenSecrets); that money went to campaigns and PACs, not to Trump personally, so no take figure is counted.
Why it matters
Trump freed the Silk Road founder on his second day back, "in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly," keeping a pledge he made in the same speech in which he promised to support the crypto industry. That industry went on to pay the family: some $1.4 billion in 2025 crypto income on Trump's own disclosure (money-2026-06-30-063). The pardon went to one man; the reporting cited here does not tie an industry payment to it.
Sources
NPR, theblock.co, opensecrets.org, decrypt.co, nbcnews.com, justice.gov