Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht said Thursday that he plans to make his first public appearance and give a speech at the Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas. Ross Ulbricht was previously sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for founding and operating Silk Road, a dark web marketplace that specializes in the trafficking of drugs and other illegal products and services. The platform uses bitcoin for transactions and has fueled the popularity of cryptocurrencies. In January, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order granting Ross Ulbricht an unconditional pardon.