Former U.S. President Donald Trump, now a leading Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election, has made headlines with his recent pledges to support the cryptocurrency industry and commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the infamous darknet marketplace Silk Road.
TLDR
Donald Trump pledged to commute Ross Ulbricht’s life sentence to time served if re-elected president.
Ulbricht, the founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road, has served 11 years in prison.
Trump expressed support for the cryptocurrency industry, promising to stop the “crusade to crush crypto” and ensure its future in the USA.
He also pledged to support the right to self-custody and prevent the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Trump made these remarks while addressing the Libertarian National Convention in an attempt to win over skeptical party activists.
During his address to the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C., Trump faced a mix of cheers and jeers from the skeptical audience. However, his remarks on cryptocurrency and his promise to free Ulbricht resonated with many attendees, who held up signs reading “Free Ross.”
Ulbricht, now 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2015 for creating and operating Silk Road, a website that facilitated the anonymous buying and selling of goods, primarily drugs.
He has already served 11 years of his sentence, and Trump’s pledge to commute it to time served on his first day back in office was met with enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.
In addition to his stance on Ulbricht, Trump also expressed his support for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.
He promised to stop what he called President Joe Biden’s “crusade to crush crypto” and ensure that the future of cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, is made in the USA rather than being driven overseas.
Trump also pledged to support the right to self-custody and prevent the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
“To the nation’s fifty million crypto holders, I say this: with your vote, I will keep Elizabeth Warren and her goons away from your Bitcoin,”
Trump declared, taking aim at the Democratic Senator who has been critical of the cryptocurrency industry.
Trump’s recent statements mark a shift in his stance towards cryptocurrency.
Once a skeptic of Bitcoin, the former president now appears to be warming up to the industry, with his campaign recently announcing that it would accept donations in cryptocurrency.
This move aligns with his efforts to reach out to potential supporters beyond the traditional Republican base.
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