In 2011, a platform that emerged on the dark web, the hidden side of the internet, became the digital marketplace for the criminal world. In this article, we reveal the striking story behind the rise and fall of the platform known as Silk Road.
Silk Road was founded in 2011 by a young man named Ross Ulbricht. It quickly grew into a massive online marketplace where various illegal services were traded on the hidden side of the internet. But how did a young man behind a computer screen become the leader of a billion-dollar empire, and how did this criminal empire eventually fall? Let’s delve into the story.
Ross Ulbricht wanted to establish a platform where trade could be carried out free from the control of the state and institutions.
He brought his idea to life with the help of decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Tor, an anonymous network. In 2011, he founded Silk Road, a platform that concealed users’ identities and enabled them to trade unimaginable illegal services such as drugs, fake documents, and even hitmen.
The anonymous nature of Bitcoin made it nearly impossible to trace these illicit transactions, which is why Silk Road quickly gained the attention of the criminal world.
However, this illegal platform, where the criminal world was running amok, was not going to last long!
In 2013, the FBI discovered the existence of Silk Road and launched an investigation.
At the initial stage, the biggest obstacle to shutting down the site was the use of anonymity-protecting technologies like the Tor network and Bitcoin.
However, despite these secrecy measures, they were not entirely successful in evading the FBI’s relentless pursuit.
By 2013, the platform’s trading volume had reached billions of dollars, with the drug trade becoming one of Silk Road’s largest activities.
This caused the FBI to increase the pressure, and the FBI was able to track down Ulbricht by piecing together a series of digital clues.
Ross Ulbricht came under the FBI’s radar due to his misconduct on various forums and social media platforms. In 2013, Ulbricht was arrested in a library in San Francisco.
Following Ulbricht’s arrest, the FBI seized Silk Road, discovering that the platform held over 144,000 Bitcoins.
This operation was a significant success, as it led to the arrest of numerous users active on the site.
In 2015, Ross Ulbricht was tried and sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole, marking the end of his involvement in illegal activities.
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