Issue 64 was a solemn tribute in support of Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road founder, and the movement #FREEROSS that strives to reduce the sentence he is facing in the US federal penitentiary-- for being ahead of time unscrupulously.

We decided to feature Ross on the cover after recognizing that only support Ross recieves is from the crypto community and we had to our part. A cover depicting the life of Ross inside the walls of the prison was our first idea, but on second thought, a portrait of Ross is what we decided we should do for our issue.

The portrait artwork was agreed on and we added some background animations through the spirals that were a metaphor to the growth of the spirit that the Free Ross movement has been gaining.  Further, we added a depth map the bring the portrait to life with a spatial feel. Below is the depth map we used for the portrait. 

A rare trait to cover 64 is that the issue number is shown in binary as 1000000 and it’s for the first time that the issue number is encrypted in such a manner to tickle nerdy brains. We also included the line "What it means to lose your freedom” that echoed throughout his speech in a phone call with the Bitcoin community in attendance at Bitcoin 21, Miami.

We hope you enjoy this cover as much as we did making it. Let us continue to support the movement and not stop until we have a positive result. On that hopeful note see y’all next week frens!