Donald Trump More Likely to Pardon Insurrectionists Than Silk Road Founder, Polymarket Bettors Predict

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Julia Smith

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Julia Smith

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Julia is an experienced editor with a passion for covering a wide variety of beats. She loves all things politics and regularly covers regulatory updates on emerging technology here for Crypto News.

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Last updated:

November 7, 2024 12:36 EST

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In a recent poll on Polymarket, bettors predict that President-elect Donald Trump, set for inauguration in January 2025, is more likely to pardon January 6 U.S. Capitol insurrectionists than Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.

Donald Trump Likely to Pardon Insurrectionists Over Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht

In the Polymarket poll titled “Who will Trump pardon?” Ulbricht reportedly holds an 83% chance of receiving a pardon, while the Capitol insurrectionists—who stormed the U.S. Capitol in January 2021 to disrupt Joe Biden’s inauguration—have an 89% chance.

Trump previously pledged to free the controversial darknet market founder after Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison for operating Silk Road, an anonymous e-commerce platform notorious for illegal narcotic trade.

Since his sentencing, Ulbricht has expressed remorse, and his case has received notable support from members of the cryptocurrency community.

Following the January 6 riot, where six people were killed and 174 emergency responders injured, Trump became the first U.S. president to be impeached twice, once for inciting the insurrection.

According to a January 2024 press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, an estimated 1,265 people were charged in connection with the attack.

The poll lists other notable potential pardonees, including FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Breitbart executive Steve Bannon, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, and Trump himself.

Donald Trump Promises Crypto-Friendly Regulations

The Republican nominee, who most recently launched his family’s crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, this past September, vocally supported digital assets while on the campaign trail ahead of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election.

Trump has since vowed to enact a crypto-friendly regulatory framework across the United States and fire controversial United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler upon returning to the Oval Office.

“We will have regulations,” Trump stated at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, adding, “but from now on, the rules will be written by the people who love your industry, not hate your industry.”

Defeated Democratic candidate Kamala Harris had attempted to court crypto voters in the weeks leading up to the election, albeit to no avail.

Donald Trump’s inauguration is set for January 20, 2025.