Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road who was recently pardoned by former President Donald Trump, is joining the campaign to free Roger Ver, one of the pioneers of the cryptocurrency space.

Ulbricht Calls for Support for Roger Ver
On the X platform, Ulbricht expressed his support for Ver, noting that he had received help from Ver when he was in crisis. "Roger Ver was there for me when I was down and out. Now Roger needs our support. No one should spend the rest of their life in prison because of taxes," Ulbricht wrote.

The call comes as the cryptocurrency industry continues to seek support from Trump, who is positioning himself as a leader who is friendly to the industry. Trump has previously criticized the “legal warfare” that he said was being used as a weapon against prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry.

Arrest and Charges Against Roger Ver
Roger Ver, often referred to as “Bitcoin Jesus” for his early role in promoting Bitcoin, was arrested in Spain in April 2024 while attending a cryptocurrency conference. The U.S. Department of Justice has requested his extradition on tax fraud charges, alleging that he owes about $48 million in unpaid taxes from when he left the United States in 2014.

The eight-count indictment alleges that Ver undervalued his assets in an “exit tax” and failed to report about $240 million worth of Bitcoin sales in 2017 through his companies, MemoryDealers and Agilestar.

Although Ver was no longer a US citizen at the time, the US government still held that he was obligated to report and pay taxes on some of the income from his US-based companies. Additionally, the US government alleged that Ver undervalued these companies when filing exit tax returns, resulting in significant tax losses.

The “Free Roger” Campaign and the Controversy Surrounding the Case
The “Free Roger” campaign was modeled after the “Free Ross” campaign, which successfully garnered attention and led to Trump’s pardon of Ulbricht. However, this campaign faced more challenges as Roger Ver was a controversial figure in the cryptocurrency community.

Ver previously served a 10-month prison sentence in 2002 for selling fireworks on eBay without a valid license. After his release, he left the US in 2005 and later became a citizen of St. Louis. Kitts and Nevis in 2014.

Ver's lawyers from Steptoe LLP and Kimura London & White claim the lawsuit is politically motivated, accusing the US government of abuse of power and violating the Constitution. They argue that the IRS investigated Ver without transparency and violated attorney-client privilege in gathering evidence against him.

Ver's defense team has also questioned the constitutionality of the "exit tax," a regulation in place since 2008 that prevents wealthy individuals from avoiding taxes by renouncing their US citizenship. They argue that the regulation is unclear in how it applies to cryptocurrencies, putting Ver in a complicated legal position.

Will Trump Intervene?
According to betting platform Polymarket, Ver has a 10% chance of being pardoned by Trump within the first 100 days of his term if he is re-elected, behind only figures like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange. Meanwhile, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has just a 2% chance of getting clemency from Trump.

With the backing of Ulbricht and several prominent figures in the crypto community, the “Free Roger” campaign is gaining traction. However, whether it can achieve the same results as the “Free Ross” campaign remains a big question mark.