Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, has been granted a full pardon by President Trump, honoring Libertarian support during his campaign.

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, has been fully pardoned by President Donald Trump. On Jan. 22, Trump announced the pardon on Truth Social, his own social media platform, stating that “in honor of the Libertarian Movement,” which supported his victory in the 47th U.S. presidential election, he had granted Ulbricht his freedom.

Trump also criticized the justice system, referring to those who convicted Ross Ulbricht as “lunatics” and describing his sentence of life imprisonment plus 40 years as “ridiculous.” Ulbricht was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for his role in creating and operating Silk Road.

Launched in 2011, Silk Road was a darknet marketplace that operated until 2013 and became infamously known as the “eBay for drugs.” It facilitated anonymous transactions of illegal goods and services, primarily drugs, using Bitcoin (BTC).

At the time, Bitcoin was relatively unknown outside of niche computer circles, and Silk Road played a key role in raising public awareness of the cryptocurrency.

In February 2015, Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, was convicted for operating the platform. He was sentenced to two life terms in prison for facilitating nearly $183 million worth of illegal drug transactions.

Silk Road was shut down by the FBI in October 2013, following a complex investigation that involved cybercrime experts and undercover agents. The key to the takedown was the identification of Ross Ulbricht, who had been using the alias “Dread Pirate Roberts.”

Authorities were able to trace Ulbricht through his online activity, including mistakes he made in forum threads discussing Silk Road and the use of an email address linked to his real identity.

The breakthrough came when investigators gained access to Silk Road’s servers, which contained a vast array of evidence, including transaction logs and private messages implicating Ulbricht. He was arrested at a San Francisco public library, where FBI agents caught him accessing the platform’s back-end server.

While Ulbricht admitted to building Silk Road, he claimed that by the time of his arrest, he had handed over control of the site and was merely a “fall guy” who took the blame after being discovered.

One of Trump’s first executive orders says, “Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person.”

Cheriss May—NurPhoto via Getty Images

• G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5 was overclocked to 6027MHz or 12,054MT/s
• That was achieved using just air cooling, with no need for liquid nitrogen
• There is, however, a catch (of sorts) in how the CPU was configured

G.Skill has again been setting records with its DDR5 RAM, this time with a seriously impressive overclock that doesn’t use any exotic cooling.

This feat was achieved using G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5 by an expert overclocker from Indonesia, a certain ‘speed.fastest,’ who managed to crank the RAM up to 6027MHz (or 12,054MT/s).

El Salvador added 12 BTC to its reserves in the past day, ramping up its Bitcoin purchase as the leading crypto asset hovers near its all-time high.

This development comes despite a recent agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to scale back some of its crypto policies.

Bitcoin Push Continues

The National Bitcoin Office announced via X on January 19th that it had purchased 11 BTC for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which is currently worth more than $1 million. An additional Bitcoin was acquired on the following day for $106,000.

The office’s portfolio tracker further revealed that the country’s total holdings now stand at 6,044 BTC, valued at roughly $620 million, with Bitcoin trading above $103,000.

Last month, President Nayib Bukele’s administration secured a $1.4 billion financing deal with the IMF, agreeing to reduce certain Bitcoin initiatives, including making BTC acceptance optional for businesses and reducing government involvement in the Chivo wallet.

However, the day after this agreement, the Central American country purchased $1 million worth of Bitcoin. National Bitcoin Office Director Stacy Herbert stated on X that the country’s Bitcoin strategy remains unchanged. El Salvador became the world’s first nation to recognize Bitcoin as an official currency following its adoption by the Legislative Assembly in 2021.

Bitfinex and Tether’s Offerings in El Salvador

Last year, Bitfinex Securities launched tokenized US Treasury bills in El Salvador under the country’s new securities regime. The main objective behind the offering was to raise $30 million and provide investors exposure to short-term Treasury bonds through blockchain technology.

More recently, USDT stablecoin issuer Tether announced relocating its business and headquarters to El Salvador after acquiring a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) license. The move aligns with El Salvador’s Bitcoin-friendly policies, aiming to foster global Bitcoin adoption and innovation in emerging markets. Tether’s CEO highlighted the country’s supportive environment for digital assets and its vision for financial freedom and decentralized technologies.

The recent launch of the TRUMP and MELANIA tokens, catalyzed by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, has ignited a mix of excitement and caution within the memecoin and broader cryptocurrency community. 

This frenzy has caught the attention of billionaire investor Mark Cuban, who is now contemplating the creation of his own memecoin, inspired by the recent memecoin movements.

Cuban’s Memecoin Vision: Combining Fun And Financial Responsibility? 

In a recent social media post, the renowned billionaire opened the door to the possibility of launching a new memecoin, stating, “If memecoins are the way, maybe I’ll issue one.” 

His announcement has stirred curiosity among crypto enthusiasts, particularly as he hinted that his memecoin would mirror the parameters of Trump’s TRUMP memecoin. 

Related Reading

Cuban plans to implement a 20% float and adhere to a similar release schedule, with one significant distinction: all potential revenue generated from the sale would be directed to the US Treasury. To enhance transparency, Cuban also indicated that the wallet address would be publicly accessible, allowing anyone to track the funds.

Cuban framed his initiative as a way to combine entertainment with a social purpose, noting, “If you want to gamble, gamble. But at least use it to make a dent in the US debt.” 

This statement reflects a growing sentiment among some investors that memecoins can serve a dual purpose—providing both amusement and potential benefits to broader societal issues. However, Cuban’s proposal has not been without its critics. 

Cuban Cites Dogecoin Success

In response to Cuban’s announcement, a user on X (formerly Twitter) cautioned him about the potential pitfalls of launching a memecoin, suggesting that he might be accused of exploiting information asymmetry at the coin’s launch. 

The user stressed that the supposed memecoin’s price would be dictated by supply and demand dynamics, starting from nearly zero, and warned Cuban not to proceed without careful consideration.

Cuban, undeterred by the criticism, defended his understanding of the memecoin landscape, stating, “It’s not hard to put it together. I never have thought about doing a meme coin. Wouldn’t be hard at all.” 

Related Reading

The back-and-forth dialogue continued, with the user asserting that creating a sustainable memecoin that benefits long-term holders is a challenging endeavor. 

He further argued that successful memecoins often emerge from community-driven initiatives rather than top-down launches, warning that hype surrounding a celebrity-backed launch could lead to short-term trading rather than fostering an organic community.

Cuban concluded the exchange by acknowledging the importance of community in the longevity of memecoins. He cited examples like Dogecoin  (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), which have thrived due to their strong communities. 

“I’m not saying buyers won’t get rekt. I said it was gambling. It’s a game of musical chairs. No promises. No pumps by me. Just complete transparency,” he emphasized.

At the time of writing, the TRUMP memecoin is trading at $44,778, recording a 14% recovery in the past 24 hours after plunging over 50% from its $79 peak reached over the weekend. 

Featured image from CNBC, chart from TradingView.com 

Netflix is raising prices yet again. In its latest earnings report released Tuesday, the streaming service announced that “we are adjusting prices today across most plans” in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.

Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou tells The Verge that the ad-supported tier is increasing from $6.99 to $7.99 per month, while the standard ad-free tier will go from $15.49 to $17.99 per month. Its highest-priced premium tier is also increasing from $22.99 to $24.99 per month. The price hikes will go into effect during subscribers’ next billing cycle, according to Zhou.

“As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix,” the company’s letter to investors says. Netflix last raised the price of its subscription in October 2023. This is also the first time it’s raising the price of this ad-supported plan, which it rolled out in 2022.

Netflix added 19 million new subscribers over the past few months — the most in its history during a single quarter — bringing its global total to 300 million. This is the last time Netflix will reveal how many subscribers it added during the quarter, as the company said last year that it would only announce “major subscriber milestones as we cross them” starting in the first quarter of 2025.

Even with a subscriber count reaching new highs, and operating income ballooning past $10 billion for the first time, Netflix executives believe the company still has room for growth. The company’s letter to investors says it accounts for less than 10 percent of TV viewing in the countries it’s available in, “which suggests a long runway for growth as streaming continues to expand around the world.”

Along with the price hike, Netflix announced that it’s rolling out a new Extra Member with Ads plan, which will allow those on the ad-supported plan to add someone outside their household to their subscription. It currently costs an extra $7.99 per month to add someone outside your household to an ad-free plan.

Update, January 21st: Added information from Netflix.

President Donald Trump is trying to halt the flow of funding for EV charging infrastructure from two programs that have benefited Tesla — the latest example of how Elon Musk’s political interests seem to be at odds with his car company’s goal of advancing sustainable energy.

It’s not a given that Trump’s gambit will succeed. But if it does, Tesla could be cut off from two sources of funding that the automaker has tapped the past two years to build out its market-leading EV charging network.

In one of the myriad executive orders Trump signed on the first day of his second term, he declared that “[a]ll agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds” from programs created by the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He specifically calls out stopping funding for EV charging stations that’s been made available through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grant program.

Those agencies are supposed to submit a review of “processes, policies, and programs for issuing grants, loans, contracts, or any other financial disbursements” within 90 days of the date of this order, and all agency heads shall submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the National Economic Council (NEC). The order also states that agencies cannot disburse more funds unless the “Director of OMB and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy have determined that such disbursements are consistent with any review recommendations they have chosen to adopt.”

Musk has long claimed that Tesla’s mission is “accelerating the transition to sustainable energy.” But he is now officially working with the second Trump administration, which took big swings at sustainable energy on its first day. Trump has already signed orders halting federal leases for offshore wind development, pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, and is trying to reverse other Biden administration EV policies.

Tesla was recently part of a group that won a $100 million award from the CFI program to build out charging infrastructure for heavy-duty electric trucks across Illinois, as TechCrunch first reported last week. The company was hoping to secure around $40 million from the group’s original funding request of $126 million. Tesla has also repeatedly sought around $100 million in CFI funding to build a truck-charging corridor between Northern California and southern Texas, but that application has been passed over multiple times.

Tesla’s CFI award in Illinois is a small portion of the nearly $2 billion the Department of Transportation has allocated over the last two years. Tesla has won a much greater share of grants from the NEVI program — which doles out smaller amounts of money to states, which, in turn, use those funds to offer grants to build charging infrastructure. Tesla had won around 13% of all NEVI awards by the middle of 2024 and was using those millions to further build out its Supercharger network, which is now open to almost all competing EVs.

Trump could slow or stop the flow of future spending from these programs, according to Martin Lockman, a fellow at Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. He might especially be able to do so if his administration is successful in its promised legal fight over the Impoundment Control Act, which limits the president’s ability to stop Congress from spending money that’s been appropriated.

“There’s a lot of wiggle room here, and the Trump administration will certainly do everything that it can to delay spending under these bills,” Lockman said.

It is not clear that Trump can legally stop the funding of awards that are already under contract, though.

“People who have contracts today have rights under those contracts, and the President can’t take them away,” he said.

But, Lockman cautioned, if agencies feel enough pressure from Trump, they could violate the terms of those contracts — and potentially the laws that established the funding programs in the first place — and refuse to give out the money. In that situation, the companies, state and local agencies, or other entities that won awards from NEVI or CFI would have to fight to get them fulfilled.

“If the new administration wants to make people fight for their contracts in court, that would certainly be a huge barrier to building EV infrastructure,” he said.