The Full Story of Ross Ulbricht and the Silk Road
synopsis
Ian teaches Mandana the full story of the Silk Road — Ross Ulbricht, Tor, the FBI investigation, the fake murder-for-hire, and the eventual bust. The episode positions Ross as a martyr-adjacent figure: not innocent, but punished disproportionately because he demonstrated that an economy could run on Bitcoin without government permission. Also covers the Bitcoin Policy Institute summit in DC and a bitcoin-themed basketball tournament.
quotes
"I don't think it's about the drugs. I think it's about — you do not run economies with anything other than the dollar." — Ian
"Fundamentally what he did with Silk Road is what El Salvador is doing. It's running an economy using Bitcoin." — Ian
"He broke the law. Whether we agree with the law or not, he broke the law." — Ian on Ross
"It's very evangelical sometimes the way that bitcoiners talk about it." — Mandana
"Bitcoiners should definitely give patience and grace to people who are not bitcoiners yet." — Mandana
"I don't care who you are where you're from don't care what you did as long as you bitcoin." — Ian (Backstreet Boys riff)
topics
Silk Road full story: Ross Ulbricht, Tor, drugs, FBI investigationThe fake murder-for-hire and staged death photosWhy Ross got two life sentences without paroleBitcoin Policy Institute summit in DCTed Cruz, Cynthia Lummis speaking on BitcoinBitcoin vs. crypto distinction in policyBiden's proposed 30% tax on crypto miningBitcoin Classic basketball tournament (paying out in Bitcoin)Eggs/beef/gas priced in satoshis (recurring CPI)Bounty program update — adjusting payouts