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Rodney

Jan 22 • 12 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X

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At 26, he launched a website that would change Bitcoin forever.

At 29, he was sentenced to die in prison.

After 10 years behind bars, Donald Trump just pardoned him.

Here's the wild story of Ross Ulbricht, Bitcoin's most controversial pioneer:

Meet Ross Ulbricht:
• Eagle Scout from Austin, Texas
• Physics scholar on scholarship
• Early Bitcoin believer
• Libertarian idealist

In 2011, he had an idea that would transform crypto forever:
A truly free marketplace using Bitcoin and privacy tech.

He called it Silk Road.

The goal? Create a free market outside government control.

The rules were simple:
• No violence allowed
• No stolen property
• No harming third parties
• Bitcoin-only payments

But things quickly spiraled out of control...

The site exploded in popularity:
• First major platform to use Bitcoin ✓
• Pioneered escrow & review systems ✓
• Created trust in digital payments ✓
• Helped prove Bitcoin's real-world use ✓

But it also became known for illegal goods.

The Feds were watching.

October 2013:
FBI agents tracked Ulbricht to a San Francisco library.

As they arrested him, one agent kept him talking while another grabbed his laptop - still logged into Silk Road's admin panel.

The site was seized.

But the real shock was yet to come...

The sentence:
• Two life terms
• Plus 40 years
• No possibility of parole
• First-time, non-violent offender

For comparison:
• Major drug dealers got 10 years
• Site administrators got 8 months
• Other defendants averaged 2-5 years

Why such a harsh sentence?

Many believe it wasn't about drugs at all.

Silk Road was the first major proof that Bitcoin could work.

It showed that digital currency could challenge government control.

The message was clear.

From prison, he reflected:

"When Bitcoin clicked for me I got so excited...

I thought I could make a difference."

"But I was impatient. I rushed ahead."

He spent 4 months in solitary. Started teaching meditation to inmates.

Despite everything, his impact on crypto is undeniable:
• Proved Bitcoin's real-world utility
• Pioneered digital reputation systems
• Drove early Bitcoin adoption
• Influenced modern crypto marketplaces

The controversy continues:

Some see him as a digital freedom fighter.
Others as a cautionary tale.
Many as both.

But on January 21, 2025, Trump's pardon changed everything.

The takeaway:

Innovation often lives in gray areas.
Bitcoin's path to legitimacy wasn't straight.

But one thing's clear.

The same system that imprisoned Ross now embraces the technology he helped pioneer.

https://twitter.com/1450837801449050114/status/1882180220545085614

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this:

1. Follow me @cryptojourneyrs
2. Repost this thread or share with a friend

I'm a passionate content creator sharing daily insights into #DeFi.

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Rodney

@cryptojourneyrs

Jan 17

At age 12, he jumped from a speeding car to escape his mother.

At 18, he was a high school grad with no direction.

Today, he's the Vice President of the United States.

Here's the incredible story of J.D. Vance:

Growing up in Middletown, Ohio, his childhood report card read like this:

• Parents divorced ✓
• Living with drug users ✓
• Witnessed abuse ✓
• Faced poverty ✓
• Unstable home life ✓

He was destined to become a statistic.

His saving grace?

A grandmother with 19 loaded handguns.

"Mamaw" had one message:
"Never be like those losers who think the deck is stacked against them."

She gave him two things he desperately needed:
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Rodney

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Master #5 and watch how woman naturally gravitate to you.

A 3-minute guide to authentic masculine presence:

First, let's address the elephant in the room:

Authentic masculine presence isn't about pickup lines or manipulation.

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Here's how the top 1% move differently:

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Most men give their attention away freely.

The naturals? They treat it like gold.

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That's magnetic.

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From $3 BILLION to ZERO in 3 days:

How crypto legend Su Zhu went from mega-mansions to mugshots.

The untold story of crypto's biggest collapse - and the red flags everyone missed:

Meet Su Zhu:

Singaporean Entrepreneur and Co-founder of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital...

Here's how one crypto legend lost $3 BILLION in just 72 hours:

In 2012, Zhu was just another trader at Deutsche Bank.

By 2021, he controlled billions in crypto assets.

His fund, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), became crypto's most feared trading giant.

But few saw the ticking time bomb underneath...

The secret to his success?

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Rodney

@cryptojourneyrs

Dec 10, 2024

He had over 760 Million dollars in Bitcoin on a hard drive.

Then, he accidentally threw it away.

Desperate to find it he offered his city $75 million to let him search for it.

Here is the wild story of the biggest treasure hunt of the 21st century:

Meet James Howells, an IT engineer in Wales, confidently threw an old hard drive during a cleanup in 2013.

What he didn’t realize: it held 8,000 Bitcoins.

At today’s prices, that’s over $760 million—buried in a landfill.

But that’s just the beginning..

The hard drive is lost under 110,000 tons of trash in Newport’s municipal landfill.

Howells approached the Newport City Council to dig it up.

They said no.

Environmental risks.
High costs.
Too much liability.

But Howells wasn’t giving up.

His solution?

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Rodney

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Dec 6, 2024

Good ole Zuckerberg stole their trillion dollar idea.

Then they took him to court and sued for 65 million.

Now, they're crypto kings worth billions.

6 Lessons the Winklevoss Twins Learned After Facebook:

It starts at Harvard, 2002.

Two 6'5" twins, exceptional rowers, Olympic dreams in their eyes.

But they weren't just athletes.

@cameron & @tyler saw the digital revolution coming.

They trained at 4:30 AM every morning.

Rowed until their hands bled.

Studied economics between practices.

This discipline would later transform them into crypto visionaries.

Read 15 tweets

Rodney

@cryptojourneyrs

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If you have at least 6, you're doing well.

Mastering #8 is truly key.

A 60 second read to make you Magnetic 🧲👇🏾

1. Emotional Sovereignty.

You don't ride the emotional roller-coaster of life.

When others panic, you remain centered.

Your mood isn't dictated by external circumstances.

This stability makes you a pillar others lean on.

2. Strategic Generosity.

You give without expecting returns.

But you're not a doormat – you invest in people who appreciate value.

Your generosity is intentional, not impulsive.

This builds a powerful network naturally.