Silk Road Use Bitcoin As A Transaction Tool, About 9 Million BTC Flow To Dark Market

JAKARTA - The case of Ross Ulbricht has been a hot topic of conversation over the past decade. He is the figure behind Silk Road, the famous online black market site. In 2013, US authorities sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Recently, on October 2, Ulbricht expressed concern through social media about the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. He expressed regret and apology.

In 2011, Silk Road was founded with Ulbricht, which uses aka "Dread Pirate Roberts," managing it from his personal laptop. This site is known as a pioneer of the darknet market that uses Bitcoin as its currency. However, on October 1, 2023, the FBI confiscated its laptop.

In 2015, Ulbricht was tried in the United States for various illegal activities related to Silk Road. He was sentenced to two life sentences and an additional forty years, without the possibility of parole.

Support for Ulbricht grew rapidly. During Silk Road operations, the site involved 9,519,664 Bitcoins worth more than $1.2 billion (Rp18.6 trillion) with a commission of around $80 million (Rp1.2 trillion). More than 250 organizations and half a million people have supported its release, with the crypto community and Bitcoin bringing in the biggest support.

At the same time, there are also different opinions. Some highlighted that although he was never charged with acts of violence, prosecutors had stated that Ulbricht hired people to commit acts of violence. This claim is still a question mark.