Bitcoin Entrepreneur Charlie Shrem Released from U.S Prison

The co-founder of BitInstant had been held in a federal prison camp in Pennsylvania since March 30, 2015.

Good news for advocates of cryptocurrency and the Bitcoin community. A founding member and former vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, Charlie Shrem, has been released from imprisonment by U.S criminal authorities. The co-founder of BitInstant has been in a high-security federal prison camp in Pennsylvania since March 30, 2015.

Shrem sent out this message to the public on Tuesday: “A few weeks ago I was released from Lewisburg FPC. I want to thank the hundreds of people who wrote, sent books, money, magazines, and their support. There are no words to describe my appreciation and affection to all of you. Thank you so much.

Currently I’m home in southern Pennsylvania where Courtney and I have relocated temporarily. We will spend the summer months enjoying the outdoors, good food, family, friends and the small things that I missed while I was away, and at the same time transition back into normal life. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be back home. I’m excited to move forward onto new projects and looking forward to seeing what everyone has been working on!”

Back in 2014 Shrem pleaded guilty to charges of unlicensed money transmission as part of a plea deal. Through his bitcoin exchange Bitinstant, he was accused of supporting the bitcoin-based economy of the Silk Road marketplace, labeled “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet,” by the U.S. Department of Justice. Last year, he was sentenced to two years in prison.

Although out of prison, Shrem is not completely a free man and is still under the same communication requirements established for his incarceration which prevent him from doing media interviews for now.