Former President Donald Trump has made a bold promise to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the infamous Silk Road marketplace, if he is re-elected in the upcoming November election. Trump's announcement came during his speech at the Libertarian Party's National Convention in Washington on May 25.

Ulbricht, who has already served 11 years in prison, founded Silk Road in 2011, a groundbreaking darknet market that utilized Bitcoin as its payment system. The platform operated under Ulbricht's pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts" until the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized his laptop on October 1, 2013.

In 2015, Ulbricht was convicted in a U.S. federal court on various charges related to Silk Road's operations. He was sentenced to two life terms plus forty years, with no possibility of parole. Trump's promise to commute Ulbricht's sentence and bring him home has sparked hope among his supporters.

Furthermore, Trump has expressed a pro-crypto stance, a shift from his previous position on digital assets earlier this year. He vowed to ensure that the future of crypto and Bitcoin will be made in the USA, rather than being driven overseas. Trump also pledged to support the right to self-custody, a move that aims to protect the nation's 50 million crypto holders from potential threats, such as those posed by Senator Elizabeth Warren and her associates.

Trump's stance on Ulbricht's case and his support for the crypto community present a stark contrast to his previous characterization of Bitcoin as a scam during his presidency. This shift in position could potentially attract the support of crypto enthusiasts and libertarians who believe in the principles of decentralization and individual liberty.