Ulbricht warns against memecoins amid possible pardon

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road, has issued a public warning to cryptocurrency users about memecoins associated with his name.

In a statement from prison on January 19, Ulbricht clarified that there is “no official Ross coin” linked to him in the crypto space.

This warning comes in response to the emergence of a token named ROSS, which launched in May 2024.

The token gained attention and saw a significant price increase following the U.S. elections and ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Trump's pledge to commute Ulbricht’s life sentence on his first day in office raised speculation about Ulbricht’s potential release, boosting interest in the token.

Ulbricht has been imprisoned since his 2013 arrest and subsequent life sentence without parole for his role in establishing the Silk Road darknet marketplace.

Despite the token’s launch before the election, some investors have reported falling victim to pump-and-dump schemes involving unofficial tokens tied to high-profile figures like Trump.

On January 17, Trump and Melania Trump introduced their own branded tokens, which has led to accusations of exploiting their supporters.

As of January 20, President Joe Biden, who holds the authority to pardon federal offenders, did not include Ulbricht in the list of pardons announced on that date.

Ulbricht’s supporters continue to advocate for his release, viewing him as a martyr for crypto rights and arguing that his life sentence represents government overreach.

The Libertarian Party had urged Trump to pardon Ulbricht in 2018, but with no resolution, his case remains a controversial topic in both the crypto and political spheres.