Ulbricht's story has long been a lightning rod for discussions around sentencing reform, the ethics of decentralized platforms, and the role of government in

Until, of course, in 2013 the Silk Road was shut down by FBI agents and Mr Ulbricht, then 29 years old, was arrested in the science-fiction section of a San Francisco public library. In 2015, after a four-week trial,

Ulbricht’s conviction has been wiped out, but his 144,000 Bitcoins are long gone.