I don’t have the answer. All I know is my friend’s kid got hooked on heroin, stopped going to school, turned to running drugs, stealing and robbing to support his habit and eventually ended up in prison. Could he have ended there regardless of Silk Road? Perhaps. 
They said Silk Road sold over 1B worth of drugs before being shut down. Is that enough to give Ross the Kingpin Status, that even a first-time conviction under could mean 20 years to life in federal prison? Technically, yes, because he took part of the proceed from every drug sale, but I am conflicted. 😐