In a strong assertion towards unjust sentencing, Moms Towards Cruel Sentencing (MACS), a nonprofit based by Lyn Ulbricht, formally launched at present on the 2025 Bitcoin convention. The group is devoted to advocating for prisoners serving extreme and inhumane sentences and supporting the households affected by such punishments.
MACS seeks to unite voices from throughout the political divide and tech group to drive significant reform in sentencing legal guidelines.
“Multiple thousands of people, many of them nonviolent like Ross, are serving extreme sentences—locked away for years, decades, even lifetimes,” stated Ulbricht. “MACS aims to give families a voice to push for fair and reasonable sentencing, where the punishment fits the crime.”
Ulbricht will formally introduce the group in the course of the Ladies of Bitcoin Brunch, a significant occasion on the convention that gathers influential ladies from the Bitcoin world to debate advocacy, innovation, and influence.
Ross Ulbricht’s Journey: From Life Sentence to Presidential Pardon
Ross Ulbricht grew to become a controversial determine after launching Silk Street in 2011, a web based market that used Bitcoin for nameless transactions. Whereas the location was sadly used for promoting unlawful medicine, it additionally served as Bitcoin’s first real-world use case, showcasing the facility of decentralized, censorship-resistant cash.
In 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to double life imprisonment with out the potential of parole. His punishment rapidly grew to become an emblem of presidency overreach for a lot of within the tech and the Bitcoin world. Critics argued that his sentence far exceeded the bounds of justice, particularly contemplating the nonviolent nature of his crimes.
His pardon, introduced shortly after Trump returned to workplace, is seen as a robust transfer to honor marketing campaign guarantees and help Bitcoin’s values of non-public freedom and resistance to authorities overreach. It sparked celebration all through the Bitcoin group but in addition reminded advocates that the combat for justice is much from over.
The Bitcoin group continues to name for clemency and help for others, together with the builders of Samourai Pockets who’re dealing with prosecution for creating privateness instruments, and Edward Snowden, who stays in exile for revealing authorities surveillance packages.
Ross shall be giving the keynotes speech on the 2025 Bitcoin Conference on Could twenty ninth at 8pm EST. You may watch his speech stay right here.