[ineedasername]

Not really. It appears the idea originated wholly with Ulbricht, who stated:

he needed the "real world identity so I can threaten him with violence if he were to release any names... FriendlyChemist is a liability and I wouldn’t mind if he was executed... negotiating the logistical details of the murder, Ulbricht agreed to pay Redandwhite $150,000 in Bitcoins to kill FriendlyChemist. DPR paid Redandwhite, who later confirmed that he had received the payment and carried out the murder, and sent what appeared to be a photo of the dead victim to DPR. DPR replied that he had received the picture and deleted it,” and thanked Redandwhite for his “swift action.” [1]

Ulbricht initiated the exchange, and in other related reporting appears to defend himself only by noting that the murders didn't actually take place. As such it was a sting operation only in so far as Ulbricht, endeavoring to threaten &/or murder people, had those efforts intercepted by law enforcement before they could get to someone who would actually carry them out. It does not appear to be a case of entrapment where law enforcement was trying incite Ulbricht, urging him on to actions he would not otherwise have taken on his own. Because, again, he was the initiator.

[1] https://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/ULBRICHT-ca2-20170531.pdf