Former police chief Yuri Zaitsev was recently sentenced to eight years in prison for acting as a bounty hunter for a dark web marketplace. In December 2018, Zaitsev was working as the leader of his unit within the Main Directorate for Drugs Control of the Republic of Khakassia — a law enforcement division analogous to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA. At that time, he initiated contact with the operator of a darknet marketplace, offering to help hunt down a man who had appropriated drugs that were entrusted to him for placement in dead drops. In Russia, unlike …
Two well-known Bitcoin (BTC) figures have resorted to a painfully public Twitter exchange to settle an argument over a $20,000 unpaid bet. The heated debate, which is ongoing, revolves around a pledge which investor Ronnie Moas made in 2018. Moas redistributes Ross Ulbricht BTC If Bitcoin was not worth $28,000 by the end of last year, Moas said he would donate the lump sum to FreeRoss.org, the charity working to free jailed former Silk Road owner, Ross Ulbricht. The bet was made with Vinny Lingham, CEO of blockchain identity startup Civic. With BTC/USD trailing at $7,200 on Jan. 1, 2020, …
One of the most successful investors in the world is calling for the release of convicted criminal Ross Ulbricht. Following up on a September 21 tweet by Tim Draper that was completely sympathetic to the imprisoned Silk Road creator, Fred Schebesta of the Crypto Finder video podcast took a moment to ask the billionaire his latest feelings on the matter. Draper gave an effusive response: Free Ross, baby! Get him out. We need entrepreneurs like that guy! Get him out of jail! Why do we put these really extraordinary people in jail? We need their minds, their energy, their life …
The ‘Free Ross’ movement has hired a billboard in New York’s Times Square as part of its campaign for the release of the Silk Road darknet market founder Ross Ulbricht. According to the Twitter account ‘Clemency for Ross’ the billboard will display the message and image for several months. The account emphasized that the billboard was funded by “a generous supporter” and not from donations to the site. Ulbricht is currently into his seventh year behind bars in a double life sentence. Without clemency he will never be released. ‘Free Ross’ billboard sprouts in Times Square Ulbricht, now 36 years …
On its surface, Andy Greenburg’s new book, Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency, is a standard crime story. Fans of true crime podcasts will enjoy the crypto version and get a seat in the Federal Bureau of Investigation van as United States federal agents track down criminals through their crypto transactions. The first story recounted is that of a crooked Drug Enforcement Agency agent who stole funds from the online drug market Silk Road. It also addresses the hunt for Dread Pirate Roberts, aka Ross Ulbricht — Silk Road’s founder. Ross’ operational security …