Cryptocurrency enthusiasts welcomed President Trump’s pardoning of Ross Ulbricht, who had been serving a life sentence without parole for running underground drug bazaar Silk Ro

Ulbricht, 40, was about 10 years into his life sentence for helming an online black market where drug dealers, money launderers, and traffickers used bitcoins to mask more than $214 million in illicit trades. (Ars thoroughly documented the Silk Road saga here .)

Donald Trump pardoned the creator of the world’s first dark-web drug market, who is now a libertarian cause célèbre in some parts of the crypto community.

On Wednesday, the price of bitcoin jumped to more than $104,000, following Donald Trump’s announcement of a presidential pardon for Silk Road and bitcoin-libertarian folk hero Ross Ulbricht. The digital asset community also eagerly anticipated a flood of crypto executive orders that would overturn years of perceived regulatory slights.

President Donald Trump has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of darknet market Silk Road, fulfilling a campaign promise. Trump issued the order on Tuesday, the second day of his second administration.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison for running an underground online marketplace where drug dealers and others conducted more than $200 million in illicit trade using bitcoin.

Libertarian activists, who generally oppose criminal drug policies, argued the government overreached in building its case against Ross Ulbricht and the dark web marketplace Silk Road.

President Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road marketplace, delivering on a campaign promise he made to court the cryptocurrency community and libertarian voters.

Donald Trump has given a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht — the man responsible for founding world's first darknet market Silk Road.

The executive order also sets up a presidential working group tasked with developing a federal regulatory framework for digital assets, including stablecoins. The group’s responsibilities will include evaluating the establishment of a national digital assets stockpile.

According to Arkham Intelligence, his wallet address has received 2.62 BTC, approximately $272,000, which includes the Kraken donation. Another address associated with Ulbricht has collected $4,615 in Ethereum, USDC, Tether (USDT), and Binance Coin (BNB).