Darknet Drug Lord Turned Crypto Entrepreneur: The Story of Blake Benthall

In this episode Rachel speaks with Blake Benthall – creator of Silk Road 2.0 and Founder of FathomX –alongside former FBI agent turned Bitcoiner, Vincent “Vinny” D'Agostino. Blake tells his story about why he created Silk Road 2.0, detailing his eventual arrest by Vinny that took place in San Francisco in 2014. Vinny explains how he found Blake, going into detail about the decision to use Blake to help the FBI following his arrest. This week's guest(s): Operating under the pseudonym "Defcon," Blake Benthall spent a year building and expanding Silk Road 2.0 until his arrest by the FBI in November 2014. After time in solitary confinement and eight months in a federal detention center, Blake spent many years cooperating with the FBI’s Cyber Division on high-profile cases. In May 2022, Blake launched Fathom(x) with support from angel investors, including a former FBI agent who initially arrested him. Fathom(x) is a blockchain analysis and risk management company that allows businesses and individuals to see all of their cryptocurrency transactions in one place and to know if they are compliant with U.S. laws. Vincent D'Agostino began his formal career in 2002 in New York as an attorney focusing on insurance defense litigation. After practicing law for several years, he was offered a position within the Federal Bureau of Investigation (New York Office) in 2005 as a Special Agent. Vincent transferred to the Cyber division in 2012 where he focused on non-state sponsored criminal intrusions. During his time within the cyber division he worked several high profile investigations including acting as the trial agent for the Silk Road 1 investigation (US v Ulbricht), case agent for the Silk Road 2 investigation (US v Benthall), FBI lead for the worldwide Operation Onymous takedown as well as investigating the Mt.Gox collapse/theft. Vincent was introduced to Bitcoin in 2012 while investigating bitcoin facilitated TOR hidden services. In an effort to understand the underlying technology, he began mining bitcoin in 2012 and quickly turned from a skeptic into a believer. Sign up for the Web3 Deep Dive newsletter: https://substack.com/@web3deepdive?utm_source=profile-page If you are interested in sponsoring upcoming episodes, please reach out contact@web3deepdive.com 🎙️Podcast Info: Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f4dd2741-2600-4be5-b894-de55b1bb1456/web3-deep-dive Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/web3-deep-dive/id1679236043 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/04DRjy4kNwf9RK5u78pSG2 IheartRadio: http://bit.ly/3nO7QS4 Social Links: ⚡️Follow Blake on X: https://x.com/emers0nian ⚡️Follow Vinny on X: https://x.com/proofofwork1 ⚡️Follow Web3 Deep Dive on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3UdVrmC ⚡️Follow Web3 Deep Dive on Instagram: https://instagram.com/web3deepdive_podcast?igshid=YjNmNGQ3MDY= 👋 Follow Rachel on social media: X: https://twitter.com/Rachelwolf00 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelswolfson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachwolf/ Show sponsors & production team: 🙌 Show Production: Audio and Film by: https://www.jtxmedia.com/ Produced by 4LabsDigital Music: Lundstroem! (email me: axel.lundstrom@gmail.com) House of Web3 website: https://edgeandnode.com/thehouseofweb3/ 💡 OTHER RESOURCES: Rachel's Website: https://www.rachelwolfson.me/ Rachel's Cointelegraph Column: https://cointelegraph.com/authors/rachel-wolfson Rachel’s Cryptonews Column: https://cryptonews.com/editors/rachel-wolfson/ Rachel's Bitcoin E-Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WLHXRS3 Rachel's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/rachelswolfson

DISCLAIMER This show is for entertainment purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Before making any decisions consult a professional.