Ulbricht Trial Day 2: Undercover Agent Says He Was a Buyer, Seller and Moderator on Silk Road

Day two of the Ross Ulbricht trial saw testimony from Jared Deryeghiayan, an undercover Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent.

Deryeghiayan relayed the story of how he managed to penetrate into the deepest layers of the Silk Road network. He took over the accounts of both buyers and sellers, presumably users that had been previously arrested and cooperated with law enforcement to lessen their punishment. He, in fact, made more than fifty purchases of drugs.

He later took over the account of "Cirrus," a moderator from Silk Road's user forums. He was paid about $1,000 a week in bitcoins, which were converted to dollars and seized by the government.

When the agent suspected Ulbricht as "Dread Pirate Roberts" (DPR), they made their way over to San Francisco and tracked his online status closely. The goal of their mission was to catch Ulbricht red-handed, logged in as DPR.

When Ulbricht reached the library where he was later arrested, Deryeghiayan started a carefully planned conversation to ensure Ulbricht was logged in:

cirrus: hey

can you check out one of the flagged messages for me?

dread: you did Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term before you worked for me, right?

cirrus: yes, but just for a little bit

dread: not any more than that?

cirrus: no, I stopped because of reporting requirements

dread: damn regulators, eh?

oh, which post?

cirrus: lol, yep

dread: there was the one with the atlantis

It was at that moment FBI agents moved in, making sure to first seize Ulbricht's laptop and then make the arrest.

While the defense has acknowledged Ulbricht as Silk Road's creator, they contest his role as the "true DPR", arguing he was duped into taking over leadership of the site when the previous DPR's detected trouble. The question will now be if their argument still holds water after yesterday's revelations.