Ross Ulbricht made his first public appearance at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas as a free man, after spending over a decade in prison for his role in running the darknet website Silk Road, before U.S. President Trump pardoned him. An emotional Ross thanked the Bitcoin community for its continuous support.
On 29 May 2015, a federal judge had sent Ross to serve a double-life sentence plus 40 years in prison without the possiblity of parole.
Silk Road founder reflected on his time in prison saying, “there were days when I thought I would die in that awful cage,” but he fought to find joy even in the darkest time.
Addressing the attendees, Ross said that the idea he risked his life and lost freedom for, grew into a movement. A movement so big that a decade later it came back around to free him, he added.
“There is still more freedom to be won”
Ross revealed that after he appeared at Bitcoin conference in 2021 through a phone call from prison, he was thrown into solitary confinement and put under heavy surveillance. But he said it was worth it and it made him feel like that for a moment he broke through the prison. “Today is the mirror image of that,” he noted.
Talking about winning back his freedom, he said, “winning your freedom feels as amazing as losing it feels awful.” Ross declared from the stage that we’re not there yet, there is still more freedom to be won and there’s still more work to be done. “Freedom is worth the struggle,” he added.
Ross is catching up with latest technology
Ross Ulbricht is still catching up with the technology after coming out of a “time capsule.” He noted:
“I effectively went into a time capsule in 2013 and now I’m coming out like Rip Van Winkle. I mean, just a few months ago when I walked out of prison, I’d never seen a drone. I had never experienced VR or chatted with AI.”
Talking about the developments in the crypto industry since he went to prison, Ross said, when he launched Silk Road there was just one exchange you could buy bitcoin on. “Now, it seems like every app I download has a built-in wallet with one-click buying options.” He added that There are dozens of new cryptocurrencies and blockchains, each one fascinating in its own right. “There’s DeFi and Web 3 and now there’s AI to help me navigate it all. It’s nuts.”
In a heartfelt video montage that played before he took the stage, scenes of Ulbricht adjusting to life beyond prison filled the screen. He was seen walking on the beach, learning to surf, sharing quiet moments with his wife and enjoying the newfound freedom.
“Freedom, decentralization and unity”
Ross concluded his speech by reminding the bitcoin community about the three core principles that they should stick by to grow further – freedom, decentralization and unity. Recalling his time in prison, Ross said that guards and administration like when prisoners are divided, that way it’s easier to rule them. But when the prisoners were united, the administration listened, he added. “When we all went on hunger strike together, they showed up and listened.”
Ross urged the crypto community to not see each other as enemies. “So long as we can agree that we deserve freedom and that decentralization is how we secure it, then we can be united, we can have each other’s backs, just like you had mine, freedom, decentralization, unity. Stay true to these principles and the future is ours.”
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