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President Donald Trump said he would consider pardoning Keoni Rodriguez, CEO of privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet Samurai, who was sentenced to five years in federal prison last month on money laundering charges.
The statement reignited the debate over privacy technology in cryptocurrencies, and raised questions about the possibility of other convicted developers, including Roman Storm of Tornado Cash, receiving a similar presidential pardon.
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Calls for more amnesty face market frustration
during Press release On December 15, a reporter asked Trump about the Rodriguez case, noting that the case began under the Biden administration, but continued at his Department of Justice, and Trump replied: “I heard about it. The president added that he would review the case after the reporter noted significant support for amnesty in the cryptocurrency community.
Rodriguez, 37, and his co-founder William Lonergan Hill, 67, were convicted of operating a cryptocurrency mixing service, and prosecutors reported that the two facilitated the laundering of more than $237 million in the proceeds of the crime. Rodriguez received a sentence of five years in prison, while Hill was sentenced to four years in prison, with two fines of $250,000 each.
The announcement drew mixed reactions, with some supporters expressing hope that the move would boost pro-crypto policies. As it is called An X user To extend the amnesty to include Two covensfounder of the collapsed Earth/Moon system.
However, critics have pointed to the performance of the broader market under Trump, with major cryptocurrencies seeing notable declines since he took office, with some tokens falling by more than 70%.
The prosecution’s case against the “simple developer” narrative.
The Justice Department has presented evidence that challenges the portrayal of Rodriguez and Hill as merely developers of privacy tools, according to Verdict announced on November 19Prosecutors showed that the founders actively promote their services to criminals.
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Hill was accused of promoting Samurai Wallet on the darknet’s Dread forum, where he directly responded to a user looking for “safe ways to clean dirty BTC” who recommended Whirlpool as a superior option. Rodriguez said he encouraged Twitter hackers in 2020 to funnel the stolen proceeds through the mixing service, and also expressed his disappointment when they chose a competing service.
The most damaging for the defense was Rodriguez himself who described the mixture as “money laundering for Bitcoin” in WhatsApp messages, at the same time the company’s marketing materials suggested that it was aimed at “black/gray market participants” who drive the proceeds from “illegal activities”.
Prosecutors said criminal funds processed through Samurai were sourced from drug trafficking, darknet black markets, hacking, fraud, state sanctioned murder-for-money schemes, and a child pornography website.
Broader implications
The case has restarted the debate on the responsibility of developers for the actions of users on decentralized platforms. Privacy advocates argue that the prosecution sets a dangerous precedent for open source software development, while law enforcement authorities argue that actively promoting criminal use crosses legal boundaries.
Online discussions have widened to question whether Roman Sturm, the developer of Tornado Cash who was convicted on similar charges in August, could also be considered for clemency. Storm was convicted of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business. The jury settled on the more serious charges of money laundering and sanctions violations.
Congress continues to debate the regulation of cryptocurrencies. Lawmakers have introduced several bills to clarify the legal status of privacy-enhancing technologies, but none have yet become law.
Trump has previously pardoned several figures in the crypto space, including former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, setting a pattern that fuels speculation about future pardons in the sector.
