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Mar 30, 2024 15 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Why Ross Ulbricht Is A #Bitcoin Legend

Launched the largest $BTC market at $0.50
Just turned 40, serving a 2x life sentence

A thread ✨Image
1/ Ross launched the Silk Road in 2011, a free #Bitcoin market where anything could be bought or sold

It's estimated 18% of drug users used the marketplace.

It accounted for 20% of all $BTC trading. Image
2/ By 2012, the Silk Road was so popular, it was processing $22 million in trade volume

At $12, that's 1.8 MILLION $BTC

For thousands, the Silk Road was an introduction to the power of #Bitcoin Image
3/ Silk Road employed 100s of people, who handled:
customer support, inventory, IT, marketing, quality control, and supply chain management

All were paid in #Bitcoin, the market's only currency Image
4/ Ross's motivation was ideological. It wasn't about making money.

Silk Road had its own book club, with readings on Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises 👏 Image
5/ Ross's dream was to restore power to the people, to take it back from the state.

He saw the Silk Road and #Bitcoin as powerful vehicles for promoting liberty and free trade. ⚖️ Image
6/ Ross believed #Bitcoin would stop the theft of inflation, and rid the world of the Federal Reserve. Image
7/ Ross continued to promote #Bitcoin, even when US politicians used the Silk Road as an excuse to ban it.

He saw this as an affirmation regulations were failing Image
8 / At the time of Ross's arrest, his personal wallet was confiscated by the government.

It held over 144,000 #Bitcoin, making Ross one of the largest holders of $BTC in history Image
9/ The US government auction of Ross's #Bitcoin was a huge mainstream moment.

It was seen as a milestone, the US government legitimizing the industry Image
10/ During Ross's trial, it was uncovered that the DEA agents investigating him stole 80,000 #Bitcoin.

Other key defense topics were banned from the trial: Image
11/ Today, the official platform policy of the Libertarian party calls for Ross to be pardoned and released 👏 Image
12/ Republican VP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed to pardon Ross if elected 👏 Image
13/ Today, Ross's market is considered by some "one of the largest contributions to harm reduction in narcotics distribution ever."

By anonymizing a violent trade, it's estimated he may have saved thousands of lives Image
14/ Today, the #Bitcoin community continues to fight for Ross's pardon and release.

By donating to you can help ensure Ross doesn't spend his life in prison 🧡 FreeRoss.org
Image

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More from @pete_rizzo_

Mar 1
#BITCOIN LEGEND: GAMEKYUUBI

Invented HODLing at $200 in 2013
Knew he was a bad trader, but refused to sell
GF out at a lesbian bar

A thread 🔥 Image
1/ GameKyuubi bought his 1st #Bitcoin at $10 in 2011.

Back then, he was a university student in Japan.

By the time he joined Bitcoin Talk in 2013, he’d been trading through 20% drops for 2 years 😮 Image
2/ GameKyuubi rode the ups and downs.

He bought 5 #Bitcoin at $20 – but sold at $100

Then, he bought $1,000 worth of BTC at $400, hoping to make back the gains he missed 💀 Image
Read 18 tweets
Feb 22
Why Jameson Lopp Is A #Bitcoin Legend

Bought his 1st Bitcoin at $10
Erased himself from the internet

A thread 🔥 Image
1/ A computer science graduate from North Carolina, Jameson discovered the #Bitcoin white paper in 2012

Here he is tweeting about the 1st halving

The price was $12 ❗ Image
2/ Jameson rode the price wave up to $200 in 2013

But he didn’t get discouraged by the 50% crash

Here's why he didn't sell ✊ Image
Read 17 tweets
Feb 16
He bought 370,000 BTC – for $0.01 each

Then, he blackmailed a U.S. Senator

The Insane Story of Michael Brown – the man who lost $36 BILLION worth of #Bitcoin. A thread 🔥 Image
1/ Early #Bitcoin was full of opportunities

By mining blocks of 50 BTC on a laptop, some were able to amass HUGE fortunes

One was Michael Mancil Brown, known as KnightMB – he was once the 7th richest person in Bitcoin 😮 Image
2/ Brown discovered #Bitcoin in early 2010

When he first got involved, 1 #BTC was less than $0.01

Here he is chatting with Satoshi on the forums 🤯 Image
Read 19 tweets
Feb 15
He mined over 400,000 BTC – when it was under $1

Then, he vanished in 2012

Who is Artforz? One of #Bitcoin’s richest men | A thread 🔥 Image
1/ ArtForz was an electrical engineer by trade

He knew a lot about computers, but did odd jobs. His PayPal was frozen because he farmed virtual currencies for video games

By 2010, at $0.01, he was mining #Bitcoin 🤯 Image
2/ Back in 2010, you could mine #Bitcoin on a laptop.

Satoshi Nakamoto wanted a “gentleman’s agreement” to hold off on GPU mining, but not everyone was committed

Soon, Artforz was mining with powerful graphics cards 😮 Image
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Feb 1
This is Paul Vernon.

At 19, he joined the Army.

At 38, he ran the fastest-growing crypto exchange.

Today he's a FUGITIVE with $1 BILLION in stolen #Bitcoin | A thread 🔥 Image
1/ Paul joined US Army Intelligence in 1994.

That’s where he met his wife – Lori Ann.

He was an entrepreneur, starting companies like OnTime Online, a web host, and DVD Barn, a Netflix rival 😆 Image
2/ Neither startup was a big success.

By 2010, Paul and Lori couldn’t afford their expensive lifestyle – they filed for bankruptcy.

In 2011, when the price was $10, he started mining #Bitcoin and altcoins like Litecoin and Feathercoin 😮 Image
Read 21 tweets
Jan 26
He predicted #Bitcoin would hit $10,000,000 – when it traded for $0

He helped Satoshi Nakamoto, when no one else would

Hal Finney’s most bullish quotes: A thread 🔥 Image
#Bitcoin price: $0 Image
#Bitcoin price: $6 Image
Read 21 tweets

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