Charlie Shrem, the Bitcoin entrepreneur, was recently sentenced to 2 years in prison for being involved in a money-laundering scheme. This happened after a Bitcoin exchange he operated was accused of helping users of the Silk Road black market.


Charlie Shrem used to be a well-known figure in the Bitcoin community. He sat on the board of the foundation that oversees the cryptocurrency. In addition, Shrem was also running his own exchange named BitInstant. He was arrested a year ago and resigned as a board member. Considering that he was facing 30 years in prison, one should admit that justice has been served.

Back in September 2014, Charlie Shrem pled guilty to the charges of money laundering, asking forgiveness from the trial judge. Then he admitted that the Bitcoin community is now scared and there was no money laundering going on any more.

Charlie Shrem was accused of running a scheme with Floridian Robert Faiella to sell cryptocurrency anonymously to users of the Silk Road online black market. Robert Faiella operated a business on the illegal website known as BTCKing. He let users exchange cash for cryptocurrency anonymously in exchange for a commission. Such anonymous orders were fulfilled through BitInstant, where Charlie Shrem was CEO and chief compliance officer.

Under the American law, the Bitcoin exchange served as a money transmitter, and was therefore required to report substantial transactions or their patterns, if those indicated suspicious activity. Charlie Shrem failed to file any such reports, which allowed the prosecution to claim that he knowingly partnered with Silk Road operators to make sure that those would continue to have access to BitInstant.

The judge rules that Charlie Shrem, over a period of many months, was knowingly, willfully, excitedly and even passionately involved in illegal activities. Everyone knows what happened with Silk Road and its successors. By the way, Ross Ulbricht, the individual accused of running the Silk Road black market, will stand trial in a few days. It is known that Ross Ulbricht operated the Silk Road under the nickname “Dread Pirate Roberts”. Ulbricht is currently accused of facilitating the trade of illegal drugs, and even ordering the assassination of a business associate.