Ross Ulbricht Freed Now – Is Trump True Crypto Believer or Just Crypto Hype Man?
The cryptocurrency community is celebrating a big event – Donald Trump has granted a pardon to Ross Ulbricht – the founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace. The US president signed an order for his release after Ulbricht was sent to jail for two life sentences plus 40 years without the possibility of parole.
For many in the crypto space a justice for a Bitcoin pioneer and also a substantial shift in US policy towards crypto and decentralization. The question remains, though, if Trump has become a true crypto believer and thinks Bitcoin can replace US dollar in the future or if he is just hyping on the popular topic of cryptocurrencies.
Ross Ulbricht pardoned; Trump’s Election Crypto Promises
After the launch, the Silk Road was mainly used for selling narcotics, weapons, and other illicit goods and services, while Bitcoin was used as the local currency to keep sellers and buyers anonymous. Ulbricht who had done eleven years of his two life-time sentences turned into an iconic figure for many within the crypto community. They saw him as a symbol of resistance against overreach in government control. Trump’s pardon for Ulbricht has been taken by many as his willingness to align with the interests of the global crypto community.
The harsh sentence given to Ulbricht triggered a wave of criticism and sparked debates about justice in the US and overreach when it comes to online privacy. A petition was launched to collect signatures to advocate for his release or at least to get his sentence reduced. Large parts of the crypto and libertarian communities supported that and other campaigns linked to Ulbricht.
By freeing Ulbricht from prison unconditionally and fully, many believe that Trump has solidified the position of the US as a leader in the crypto space. Besides the pardon, the pledged to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the US by purchasing one million BTC over the next fiver years – 200,000 BTC per year. If this does happen, it would prove that America treats Bitcoin as a strategic asset similar to gold, or rather, it’s digital form.
This way, Bitcoin would get a potential boost on the global stage. Trump’s third promise given during his election campaign was the introduction of crypto-friendly regulations in order to foster innovation and attract blockchain-focused businesses to the US. This would be a stark contrast to the previous administration which preferred to hunt down crypto companies, suing them and driving them out of the country. Needless to remind the readers that on the day of Trump’s inauguration, January 20, the world’s flagship crypto Bitcoin soared to a new all-time high, surpassing the $109,114 mark.
Trump’s Family Buys Crypto and Launches Meme Coins
Aside from all the facts mentioned above, Trump’s pro-crypto position has been further solidified by the fact that his fund World Liberty has been actively purchasing large amounts of various cryptocurrencies. This week, for example, among other coins, the fund has bought Ethereum and Tron (TRX). This may show that he intends to capitalize on cryptocurrency investment. However, thousands of other investors, both retail and institutional ones, have been doing.
Still, many critics continue to insist that his bows to the crypto community before the election were driven by his desire to win their votes and now he continues to ensure their support as an elected president.
Adding to the intrigue, the US president has launched his own Solana-based meme coin TRUMP and it gained massive traction shortly after release, exploding in trading volume and market cap size. Not long after that, his wife Melania Trump followed suit, issuing her own meme cryptocurrency MELANIA. This made everyone think harder about Trump family’s deeper interests in the cryptocurrency space. Now, many wonder if other members of Trump’s family, like Ivanka Trump or Donald Trump Jr. are likely to do the same and explode the crypto space with their own coins. Should that happen, though, this would either be interpreted as family’s strong commitment to crypto or be dismissed as opportunistic cash grabs.
Still, Trump’s recent actions during the first two days of his presidency have definitely revived optimism in the US cryptocurrency market. As part of his promise to adopt a crypto-friendly environment he said before the election that he would fire the SEC chair Gary Gensler on day one of his presidency. Gensler was known for his regulation-by-force approach. Upon Trump winning in November, Gensler chose to resign himself and his last day in the SEC office was January 17.
Now, that Ross Ulbricht has been freed, the crypto community and Bitcoiners in particular are waiting to see if Trump will fulfil his other big promise – the creation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Many believe that should that happen, it will be the driver that will propel BTC above the $1 million price level.
