Ross is now free. I expect this to be the only good thing this administration will come out of in the grand scheme of things. The reasons behind this pardon were purely political, but regardless I am very happy to see Ross reunited with his family and loved ones. Even taking into account all the accusations ostensibly against him, both those actually charged and those not, Ross has undoubtedly served his time.
The actual murders and rapists served a small portion of Ross’s sentence, even after committing multiple crimes in some cases. The sentence issued against him was entirely political, and was in no way proportional to the charges against him. The risk was very high for one reason: to set an example.
It’s not the only example governments have tried to set since 2013. The Samourai Wallet team is currently under house arrest awaiting trial for hosting the backend of a 100% self-custody service. Roman Sterlinggov is in prison accused of running a central mixer, with no evidence other than flawed blockchain heuristics. The Tornado Cash case involves developers dealing with lawsuits and prison sentences in multiple jurisdictions.
All of these things go far beyond what happened to Ross, in terms of legal status. Ross’s sentence was maddeningly disproportionate, but the same legal basis for these other cases does not exist. They charged them anyway. Some of them condemned them anyway. These people are sitting in prison, just like Ross, anyway.
The government will not stop providing examples. It doesn’t matter that Trump enjoys the benefits of the unregulated monetary extraction possible in this area, it doesn’t matter that Wall Street and Washington see value they can leverage, none of that matters.
The power brokers and leaders realizing that they can cheat, or embezzle money from the economy that is being built here, doesn’t change anything. Doesn’t make them privacy lovers. It does not make them admire the true sovereignty of the individual. It doesn’t make them like him In reality Free markets that do not preferentially satisfy corporate interests.
We need tools to facilitate all of these things, but building them means you’re a potential target.
If you really care about these things, you know it’s not over yet. A man who was unjustly imprisoned is free, and this is an amazing thing. He can see his parents again, his wife, and his friends again, which is truly a priceless achievement.
But this is not over yet. Not by a long shot. The music started, people changed chairs, and it stopped again. But the same game is still being played, and we can’t lose sight of that.