Samourai developer could face maximum sentence in controversial privacy case

important notes

• The developers could be sentenced to five years in prison, despite following legal guidance and claiming they did not hold any user funds.
• The privacy features allegedly facilitated criminal transactions, including darknet markets and fraudulent schemes totaling more than $237 million.
• The case follows President Trump’s CZ pardon and mirrors the Tornado Cash prosecution amid heightened debate over crypto privacy tools.

U.S. prosecutors are seeking up to five years in prison after Samurai Wallet developers Kionne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate unauthorized money transfer machines.

Based on a government ruling memorandum reported by The Rage on November 3, developers designed Samourai’s privacy features (like Whirlpool and Ricochet) to help users obscure the trail of transactions that led to criminal activity. They allege that more than $237 million in illicit funds from drug trafficking, darknet markets, hacking and fraud passed through the wallet, including new allegations of connections to murder-for-hire schemes and child pornography sites.

Related Article: Zcash Price Prediction: Network Activity Hits All-Time High – Is Privacy Coin a New Trend?

Rodriguez and Hill requested time. In his letter, Hill explained his prioritization of Bitcoin. BTC 106 640 dollars 24 hour volatility: 3.1% Market capitalization: $2.13 trillion Vol. 24 hours: 7.084 billion dollars As a digital cash for personal independence, the wallet did not store users’ funds, so it said it studied FinCEN’s guidance and consulted an attorney to ensure compliance. He expressed regret about the marketing strategy. Rodriguez echoed this sentiment, The Rage reported, noting that he helps victims track stolen bitcoins through tools like OXT.

“I believe deeply in the ideas of freedom and freedom from government overreach and have rationalized my actions as furthering these ideas. (…) I co-founded a software company that develops tools that can provide the anonymity necessary to make Bitcoin function as intended. “I focused on Bitcoin as a digital cash and all that it encompasses regarding personal independence,” Hill wrote to Judge Cote, who is overseeing the case.

Rodriguez’s letter has not yet been published, but will be linked to the PACER database once it is updated.

The letter from New York University professor David Yermak said they framed their efforts in the cypherpunk tradition, linking to thinkers like Milton Friedman and recent statements by SEC commissioners about the risks of financial privacy.

Trump pardons CZ and Tornado Cash scandal

The move follows President Trump pardoning Binance founder Chao Changpeng (CZ) two weeks ago after his four-month prison sentence for AML expired. Crypto reporter L0la L33tz, founder of The Rage, labeled the X memo “absolute insanity,” noting the focus on dropping charges while AML reform has bipartisan support.

The government’s sentencing memo for Kionne and William is absolute and pure insanity.

First of all, throughout the sentencing memorandum there appears to be little mention of the developer’s collusion in operating unlicensed money transfer machines.

— L0la L33tz is more fun in Nostr (@L0laL33tz) November 3, 2025

The case mirrors the Tornado Cash prosecution, in which developer Roman Storm was found guilty in August 2025 of unauthorized transmission but stalled on laundering charges, as detailed in a CoinSpeaker report. Support for such developers has expanded, with the Ethereum Foundation pledging funding.

While widespread debate about privacy continues, as seen in debates and similar incidents around the world, Zcash ZEC $411.4 24 hour volatility: 4.4% Market capitalization: $67.2 billion Vol. 24 hours: $975.11 million According to Google search data, it has become the new dominant privacy coin in an impressive rise due to growing privacy concerns.

According to The Rage, the results signal a broader crackdown on non-custodial privacy software and could bring back old fears for developers building software and solutions similar to Samurai Wallet, which previously led the way among privacy-focused Bitcoin wallets.

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