Silk Road T-Shirt

The first modern darknet marketplace, operating from February 2011 until being shut down by the FBI in October 2013. Founded by Ross Ulbricht under the pseudonym 'Dread Pirate Roberts,' the site used the Tor network for anonymity and Bitcoin for transactions. Ulbricht was convicted and given two life sentences, but was released from prison in January 2025, after being granted a pardon by President Trump. While it popularised Bitcoin as a functional currency, it also created a long-lasting stigma by associating cryptocurrency with criminal activity.