At the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, attendees listened
to the first phone interview with the Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht from the
depths of the maximum-security prison in Tucson, Arizona. During the
interview, Ulbricht spoke about bitcoin and how the decentralized crypto
asset is “transforming the global economy.” Following the phone call,
Ulbricht was placed in the hole according to the official Free Ross
Twitter account.
Ross Ulbricht Speaks About Bitcoin in His First Interview from Prison
Ross Ulbricht’s voice was heard by the attendees who went to the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami this year. The recent interview
was recorded by Bitcoin Magazine and is the first recorded phone
conversation with Ulbricht after his arrest. Ulbricht touched upon the
loss of his freedom and noted that from his confinement he’s “spent the
last eight years watching Bitcoin grow up from in here.”
During the phone call, Ulbricht noted that he was around during the
Bitcoin network’s nascent days and at that time there were not many
altcoins and forks. Ulbricht said with all that aside he looked at the
crypto ecosystem as one big “family.” Through his lens in prison,
Ulbricht detailed that he’s seen the cryptocurrency space invoke lots of
innovation since his departure. Ulbricht stated:
I’ve seen incredible innovation. I’ve seen inspiring
courage. We didn’t know how things would turn out for Bitcoin back in
the beginning, but over the years, I’ve been continually impressed with
what you’ve accomplished— We are transforming the global economy. We
have brought a taste of freedom and equality to far corners of the
world. I know we can transform criminal justice, too.
Ulbricht: ‘Bitcoin Is Strong. Bitcoin Is Powerful. Our Work Is Not Over’
Ross Ulbricht’s case has been called a “miscarriage of justice” and
more than 250 organizations, eminent individuals and global leaders have
shown support for Ulbricht. The creator of the Silk Road marketplace has one of the largest Change.org petitions in the U.S., as the petition has been signed by 433,845 individuals
to date. The petition is seeking clemency for Ulbricht as his offenses
were non-violent and his “investigation, trial and sentencing were rife
with abuse.” Ulbricht spoke about the Silk Road during his phone call
with Bitcoin Magazine and said:
I thought with Bitcoin, I could try and do something that
actually makes a difference— Back then, I was impatient. I rushed ahead
with my first idea, which was Silk Road… That’s a 26-year-old who
thinks he has to save the world before someone beats him to it. I had no
idea Silk Road would work, but now we all know it caught on. It was
used to sell drugs, and now I’m in prison.
Ulbricht also said that it was ironic that he created the Silk Road
because he wanted to further “freedom, privacy, [and] equality.” But
what happened was he “wound up in a place where those things don’t
exist.” Meanwhile, he sees a lot of potential with bitcoin and the
crypto participants, in general, because he believes “Bitcoin is
strong.”
“Bitcoin is powerful. We are powerful. And our work is not over,” Ulbricht stressed. Following the phone call interview, the Free Ross Twitter account detailed that Ulbricht was recently put in the hole.
“Ross has been put in the SHU (aka ‘the hole’) after a recorded
interview he did over the phone with [Bitcoin Magazine] was broadcasted
at the [Bitcoin 2021 conference] this weekend. Please keep Ross in your
thoughts & prayers,” the account tweeted on June 8.
source link : https://news.bitcoin.com/silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht-speaks-publicly-for-the-first-time-since-2013/
