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The Rise and Fall of Silk Road
Article

The Rise and Fall of Silk Road

How a 29-year-old idealist built a global drug bazaar and became a murderous kingpin.

Joshua Bearman
Wired, 2015
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Innovative
  • Engaging

Recommendation

In early 2015, a jury found Ross Ulbricht guilty of creating and running the drug-selling e-commerce website Silk Road. But how exactly did Ulbricht come to create Silk Road, and how, with all the encryption and secrecy standing in the way of discovery, did law enforcement ultimately bring Ulbricht to justice? In this long article, Wired reporter Joshuah Bearman weaves a detailed and gripping narrative of the various individuals – including Ulbricht, Silk Road employee Curtis Green, Drug Enforcement Administration agent Carl Force and FBI agent Chris Tarbell – and the encryption technology which played a part in the Silk Road saga. In detailing the rise of Silk Road and the evolution of its founder from political experimenter to brutal businessman, Bearman also raises larger questions about the nature of identity and the corrupting influence of power. getAbstract recommends this article to everyone interested in the intersections among digital technologies, politics, law, philosophy and identity.

Take-Aways

  • Ross Ulbricht’s first encounter with bitcoin cryptocurrency sparked the idea for Silk Road, an anonymous ecommerce website specializing in “illicit trade, mostly drugs.”
  • He based Silk Road’s ideology upon libertarian politics and Golden Rule ethics.
  • Specialized Tor encryption software facilitated Silk Road’s secrecy.

About the Author

Joshuah Bearman writes for Rolling Stone, Harper’s, Wired, The New York Times Magazine, The Believer and McSweeney’s and contributes to This American Life.

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    E. B. 8 years ago
    This summary, reminds me of the recent summary of "the subtle art of not giving a fuck" in that it seems to signal a new willingness on the part of Get Abstract to summarize "badass" content that pushes the envelope.
    Bravo! Keep up the great work!