**Samourai Wallet Cofounder Keonne Rodriguez Sentenced to Five Years for Writing Code**
This week, Samourai Wallet cofounder Keonne Rodriguez received the maximum sentence of five years in prison for writing code. As a developer now sits behind bars for building privacy tools, many in the Bitcoin community—including prominent voices like Max Keiser—are pushing for a full pardon.
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### Crypto Crackdown: Beyond Campaign Promises
During his campaign, Donald Trump vowed to put an end to the crackdown on cryptocurrency. To some extent, he has stuck to his word. Since taking office, Trump has pardoned figures such as Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and Binance’s founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. He also issued several executive orders, including one aimed at officially ending Operation Choke Point 2.0 with a “debanking” order.
However, the arrest and conviction of Samourai Wallet developers highlight the ongoing clash between privacy, code, and the law—even amid the White House’s pro-crypto pivot.
The contrast is stark. As one Bitcoiner pointed out, while JPMorgan paid $290 million in 2023 to settle allegations as severe as sex trafficking without any top executives being jailed, the developer behind a Bitcoin privacy tool has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Foundation, a Bitcoin-centric tools developer, summarized the situation succinctly:
> “The current administration often speaks in support of Bitcoin, yet the Justice Department continues to pursue policies that may predate this administration targeting privacy technologies and open-source developers. Open-source developers deserve protection, not persecution.”
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### What is Samourai Wallet?
Samourai Wallet is a privacy-first Bitcoin wallet co-founded by Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill. It allows users to mask their transaction histories and identities by leveraging mixing features such as Whirlpool and Ricochet.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that Samourai processed over $2 billion in transactions and laundered more than $100 million in criminal proceeds. These funds were linked to crimes including hacking, fraud, drug trafficking, and murder-for-hire.
The core charges against the developers were conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Prosecutors claimed that the creators marketed their software to individuals wishing to hide illicit funds.
Both developers pleaded guilty. Rodriguez received the maximum sentence of five years and was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine. Hill is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
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### Ross Ulbricht, CZ, and a Wave of Pardons
The story doesn’t end with Samourai Wallet. The shadows of past cypherpunk cases linger.
Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, was granted a full pardon by President Trump this year. After spending a decade in prison, Ulbricht was freed.
Similarly, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, founder of Binance, served time on federal money laundering charges but was pardoned this autumn.
These pardons illustrate how Trump’s political calculus intersects with key crypto figures. Yet, while these high-profile entrepreneurs receive pardons or avoid harsh sentences, crypto developers are getting hefty prison terms.
At the same time, financial giants like JPMorgan continue settling massive lawsuits—such as the sex trafficking-related case—without any executives going to jail.
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### The Call for a Samourai Wallet Pardon
Max Keiser and a growing chorus of Bitcoin advocates are urging President Trump to issue a blanket pardon for the Samourai Wallet developers. They frame the case as a battle for open-source financial privacy against increasing surveillance.
Critics argue that prosecuting coders for creating privacy tools criminalizes not just software, but the broader concept of financial autonomy.
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### Why This Case Matters for Crypto
The prosecution of Samourai Wallet marks a chilling milestone in the ongoing war against privacy-first financial tools.
While Wall Street banks avoid direct accountability for severe criminal allegations—settling massive cases without jail time—developers behind privacy tools face harsh sentences.
The push for a Samourai pardon symbolizes a broader movement: to stand up for privacy, open-source code, and the principles of financial freedom, or risk seeing these values imprisoned alongside their creators.
This is the new crypto election cycle, where the lines between code and crime, settlement and sentence, are more blurred than ever, and the fight for justice in the industry has never been louder.
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*Stay tuned for updates on William Lonergan Hill’s sentencing later this month.*
https://bitcoinethereumnews.com/tech/privacy-on-trial-as-samourai-wallet-cofounder-lands-in-jail-for-writing-code/