Source: AI and Web3 Observation Diary

"You are pardoned." A phone call ended Ross Ulbricht's 11 years in prison. The legend who made Bitcoin soar from US$0.1 to US$1,100 has finally seen the light of day again.

The person who let him out was none other than Trump, who had just caused an uproar over the issuance of currency. The incoming U.S. president not only changed one person's fate with a pardon, but also set off a storm in the crypto market.

Who is Ross? In 2011, this 26-year-old young man did an earth-shattering thing: he created the darknet trading platform "Silk Road". At that time, Bitcoin was only worth a few cents and no one cared about it. But Ross was the first to discover its potential and turned Bitcoin into the platform’s only payment method.

This move directly allowed Bitcoin to complete the transformation from "toy" to "tool". Market data shows that the Bitcoin circulating on the platform accounted for 80% of the entire network’s transaction volume at that time. In just two years, Bitcoin has risen from $0.1 to $1,100.

"The core of blockchain technology is decentralization and anonymity," and Ross perfectly demonstrated these two characteristics with 'Silk Road'. Although the method is controversial, he did find the first real application scenario for Bitcoin. "

Of course, this kind of "innovation" comes at a price. In 2013, in a bookstore, Ross was tripped up by a well-planned drama. The FBI arranged for a pair of agents to pretend to be a couple. Argue next to him and arrest him while his computer is still logged in. With a darknet administrator account, the evidence was conclusive.

In the end, the court sentenced him to two life sentences plus 40 years. Some said he was a criminal, while others said he was a liberal fighter. In the crypto community, there have been strong calls for commutation of his sentence.

And. Trump's release this time was ostensibly to fulfill his campaign promise, but in fact he was playing a bigger game. Just a few days ago, the TRUMP coin he issued was severely criticized by the currency circle, saying that he was using his status as president. Cutting leeks. This time Ross was released, which immediately settled a lot of controversy.

"This is Trump's brilliance." On the one hand, he used the pardon to show his support for the encryption industry, and on the other hand, it also paved the way for his Bitcoin strategic reserve plan. "

From a technical perspective, Ross's release from prison may herald a new turning point for the encryption industry. The Bitcoin that he pushed to US$1,100 back then has now exceeded US$105,000. And this industry also starts from underground transactionsStarting from the beginning, it gradually moved towards the mainstream market under the sun.

Now Ross is 41 years old, and Bitcoin has gone from obscurity to an upstart on Wall Street. Who would have thought that the prisoner who changed the fate of Bitcoin 11 years ago would eventually be released by a "Bitcoin President"?

This may be the magic of fate: history is always full of unexpected turns.