They did not follow through because he failed to actually hire a hitman. He got scammed instead, which ironically saved him.

I encourage you to read the transcript in which he attempts to arrange the assassinations [1]. It is pretty obvious what he is doing.

To go back to the original point, though, I do not believe that his crimes make his ideas about social networks irrelevant.

[1] https://www.wired.com/2015/02/read-transcript-silk-roads-bos...