The Silk Road founder could be one of the world's richest people if he gets his bitcoin back from the U.S government.

On his second day back in office, President Donald Trump issued a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of dark-web marketplace Silk Road. Trump had pledged to free Ulbricht as part of a raft of promises made to the cryptocurrency community while on the campaign trail.

Law enforcement said Ulbricht created the “most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace” on the internet.

On Wednesday, the price of bitcoin jumped to more than $104,000, following Donald Trump’s announcement of a presidential pardon for Silk Road and bitcoin-libertarian folk hero Ross Ulbricht. The digital asset community also eagerly anticipated a flood of crypto executive orders that would overturn years of perceived regulatory slights.

Donald Trump pardoned the creator of the world’s first dark-web drug market, who is now a libertarian cause célèbre in some parts of the crypto community.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison for running an underground online marketplace where drug dealers and others conducted more than $200 million in illicit trade using bitcoin.

Ulbricht, 40, was about 10 years into his life sentence for helming an online black market where drug dealers, money launderers, and traffickers used bitcoins to mask more than $214 million in illicit trades. (Ars thoroughly documented the Silk Road saga here .)

President Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road marketplace, delivering on a campaign promise he made to court the cryptocurrency community and libertarian voters.

Where Economists Think the Trump Economy Is Headed By Vicky Ge Huang WSJ's latest survey shows that forecasters expect higher inflation than they did in October-but also higher GDP growth. Also, a sluggish economy and President Trump's tariff threats prompt Beijing to tell big investor to buy more stocks.

Why did Donald Trump free Ross Ulbricht? An idealist libertarian or ‘the most dangerous man on the internet’ - ANALYSIS:

Trump pardons Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, sparking debate on justice reform, Libertarian influence, and online crime consequences.