Coinbase Temporarily Disables Ross Ulbricht's Account, Hires Silkroad Prosecutor

Yesterday, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase disabled alleged Silkroad founder Ross Ulbricht’s account. They reactivated it later, citing security concerns. After this happened, some people pointed out Coinbase just hired Silkroad prosecutor, Kathryn Haun, which exacerbated worries that Coinbase may be targeting the Ulbricht campaign.

Also read: Top German Banker Warns Cryptocurrencies Could Precipitate a Financial Crisis

When people mentioned Haun had been hired, it caused some individuals to level verbal assaults, saying Coinbase should not hire the enemy.

It appeared the community was prepared to wage a pitched battle against the Coinbase team. However, the situation was quickly neutralized when Coinbase brought the account back online.

The Ross Ulbricht campaign tweeted about the issue when the account was shut down, saying:

And disabled the #FreeRoss account after receiving 16.5 #bitcoin today. Now can’t pay lawyers.

Then today, @Free_Ross tweeted the account had been restored and everything was back in working order.

.@coinbase has enabled #FreeRoss account. Was auto security response to possible link to previous compromised account. Never happened b4. — Free_Ross (@Free_Ross) June 16, 2017

The Silkroad Prosecutor; Ulbricht’s Campaign

The timing of hiring Haun was also rather strange, but likely a coincidence. It turns out that the prosecutor was not the Federal attorney that convicted Ulbricht. Haun was the one who put the agents that stole his bitcoin behind bars.

Nonetheless, it is understandable why some individuals in the community would be sensitive to this kind of issue. It leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths when federal prosecutors, who were deeply involved in a bitcoin consensual crime case, are suddenly awarded a corporate position with a deeply entrenched bitcoin exchange platform.

In the end, the story turned out to be not as bad as it initially sounded. Still, it remains to be seen what will become of Ross Ulbricht, who does not belong behind bars according to many. At least his family and friends can continue funding his campaign, and perhaps some day they will receive some semblance of justice.

Do you think Coinbase did something wrong in all of this? Do you believe Ulbricht should be freed from prison? Share your thoughts below!



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