This week, Bitcoin passed its tenth anniversary, leaving many who are interested in the technology to reflect on the past decade of growth in the industry. As many of us shared stories and posted on social media about the wild ride we have been taken on, one of the people who made it all possible sat behind bars. Ross Ulbricht, the man who was charged and convicted for his role in the Silk Road marketplace, recently began to reconnect with the outside world after spending his first few years behind bars in silence as he tried to appeal his charges. Over the summer, Ulbricht opened a Twitter account to keep up with his supporters and show his true personality after years of slander from corporate media. As Bitcoin turned ten years old this week, Ulbricht wrote a sort of open birthday card to the currency, expressing how he felt like an estranged father, unable to watch his child grow up. Ulbricht writes:
"Bitcoin is turning ten, and like many of us, I feel like a proud parent, having watched it grow into its potential over the years. I guess I’m the estranged father in prison though, who can’t be there to help raise his kid. Bitcoin as a 10-year-old kid is not a bad analogy. The technology is still very young, still growing. It’s been shooting up like a weed and been through some growing pains, but it’s barely a pre-teen and has the rocky road of adolescence still ahead. It’s something we all have to go through to mature into adults, to discover who we are, and Bitcoin is no different. We will see in the years ahead what Bitcoin is capable of, how it will be used, and the impact it will have on our world. I have high hopes that our gifted child will exceed everyone’s expectations and go on to greatness, but it is still a child that must be nurtured and protected."
The analogy of father is no exaggeration, Ulbricht is arguably second only to Satoshi when it comes to figures who laid the foundation for Bitcoin. The Silk Road was the first major use case for Bitcoin and is largely the reason for the cryptocurrency's initial rise in popularity. On the Silk Road, drug users and vendors were able to trade anonymously using Bitcoin, making it one of the first blockchain commerce platforms.
Even though Ulbricht did nothing but create a website, just like the famous billionaires Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos, he was treated like El Chapo in court so an example would be made for anyone who sought to take his place. Despite the politics of fear surrounding the dark web, drug marketplaces continue to flourish and are now more abundant than they were in the days of the Silk Road, so the intimidation tactics have obviously failed. This constant reinvention of the Silk Road brand and the myriad of spin-off marketplaces is reminiscent of the battle that took place between online file sharing websites and the global record and film industries.
Whenever the government took down a file-sharing site, ten more would spring up in its place, making it very difficult for authorities to keep up with the overgrowing connectivity that the internet provides. One important point that was often overlooked by the media during the Ulbricht trial was the fact that the Silk Road actually made the world a safer place by undermining prohibition.
Even though drugs are illegal, large numbers of people still use them on a regular basis, and these people are often put into dangerous situations because of these prohibitions. The Silk Road allowed people to purchase drugs from the comfort of their living room to avoid the risk of getting mugged in a dark alleyway. It also allowed them to read reviews of the products that their potential dealer was selling, saving them from tainted drugs and dirty batches that could put their lives at risk.
In his recent letter, Ross warned his supporters that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has incredible potential to change the world in positive ways if leaders in the space can stay firm to their principles. Ulbricht concluded:
Bitcoin needs us to continue guiding it with the values it was founded on, that gave it its potential. We must keep our focus on decentralization, privacy and empowering individuals. We are Bitcoin’s advocates and representatives. How far it goes and what it becomes in the crucial years ahead will depend on us. It is a technology with the power to make abstractions like peace and equality into reality. But it’s up to us to embody such ideals and be role models for the ever-growing Bitcoin community and for Bitcoin itself. I’m so excited for what’s to come in the next ten years, for Bitcoin and all of its crypto cousins. I just hope I can come home and make up for these lost years and show everyone where my heart truly is.
A petition to pardon Ulbricht has reached over 90,000 signatures and is growing by the day.