Will Trump Keep To His Word To Free the Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht on Day One? Fans Are Optimistic...

Ross Ulbricht has yet to receive commutation for his prison sentence from President Donald Trump, dashing hopes from advocates, in the immediate term, to set the notorious figure free.

It is still unclear whether Trump intends to keep to his word to pardon or commute Ulbricht's sentence in the coming week. But it seems that fans are still optimistic.

A pardon means that it would grant complete forgiveness, effectively erasing all legal penalties, and restoring civil rights while not declaring innocence outright. Clemency, on the other hand, refers to the authority of government officials that enables both commutations and pardons.

The odds of U.S. President Donald Trump commuting Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s sentence during his first week in office surged to 95% on Polymarket following a statement by Elon Musk suggesting clemency was imminent.

At 9 p.m. ET on Monday, Tesla CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk replied to a post on X, stating, “Ross will be freed too.” This sparked a rapid increase in Polymarket’s prediction market odds, which jumped from 54% to 95% for Ulbricht receiving a pardon during Trump’s initial week in office. The specific market has now recorded a betting volume of $51,367.

Another Polymarket prediction focusing on potential pardons during Trump’s first 100 days in office shows Ulbricht with a 97% likelihood of clemency, supported by a total betting volume of $5 million.

Ross Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and convicted in 2015 for creating and running Silk Road, a darknet marketplace that facilitated the trade of illegal goods, including narcotics, using bitcoin. Ulbricht received two life sentences plus 40 years without parole in 2015, convicted of money laundering, computer hacking and narcotics trafficking charges.

While prosecutors painted Ulbricht as a dangerous kingpin, advocates describe him as an idealistic libertarian whose non-violent platform reduced risks in drug transactions.Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also wrote on his X

"I hope you get the freedom you deserve."

A clemency petition hosted on freeross.org has garnered over 600,000 signatures, advocating for Ulbricht’s release. Supporters argue that his life sentence is excessive and unjust, with some in the bitcoin and libertarian communities praising Silk Road for its ideological underpinnings.

In May last year, Trump indicated he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence on his first day in office if reelected. Ulbricht expressed his gratitude on X, though no official announcement has been made yet.

On Monday, Ulbricht clarified via X that he is not affiliated with any cryptocurrency or memecoin using his name, explicitly stating there is no official “Ross coin.”