The post Stay united: Ross Ulbricht’s heartfelt message for Bitcoin appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

This is a segment from the Supply Shock newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. After Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht dialed into the Bitcoin Conference from prison in 2021, he quickly found himself in solitary confinement. It was obvious punishment. Ross was then placed under increased surveillance for the rest of his time behind bars — a direct result of his communication with the Bitcoin community. Four years later, on Thursday afternoon, Ross stood on the conference stage in Las Vegas for Bitcoin 2025, in what he described as a “mirror image of that day.” “You know what, I’m glad I did it [dial into Bitcoin 2021]. I am. Connecting with you that day felt so, so good, because it was like a small part of me had broken beyond the prison walls and escaped only for a little while.”  Well, the rest of Ross finally caught up. Poetically enough, yesterday was 10 years to the day that Ulbricht was handed a double life sentence (plus 40 years) without parole.  “I was just 31 years old. If [the judge] and all the others behind my prosecution had their way, I would have grown old and eventually died still in prison. Instead, I’m here with you,” Ross said.  He wore a formal black suit, white shirt, red tie and shiny black shoes. But he was comfortable. Bitcoin is, of course, very different now than when Ross was arrested in October 2013.  There were no Strategys buying up hundreds of thousands of coins, or government-controlled strategic bitcoin reserves. No CoinJoin or Lightning Network, either, and definitely no Ordinals. Not to mention, there were fewer than 40 cryptocurrencies on the market at the time, with bitcoin dominance at more than 90%. The price of each coin was around $120, giving BTC a $1.6…

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Filed under: News - @ May 30, 2025 4:28 pm