President Donald Trump said he would consider granting clemency to Keoni Rodriguez, the CEO of the privacy-focused Samourai Bitcoin wallet, who was sentenced to five years in federal prison last month on money laundering charges.
The statement reignited controversy surrounding privacy technology in cryptocurrencies and raised questions about the possibility of other convicted developers, including Roman Storm from Tornado Cash, receiving similar presidential pardons.
The calls for more pardons face market frustration
During a press briefing on December 15, a journalist asked Trump about the Rodriguez case, noting that the case began under the Biden administration but continued in his Justice Department. Trump replied: "I heard about it, I'll look into it." The president added that he would review the case after the journalist noted the strong support for the pardon within the cryptocurrency community.
Rodriguez, 37, and his co-founder William Lonergan Hill, 67, were convicted of operating a cryptocurrency mixing service, with prosecutors stating that the two facilitated the laundering of over $237 million in crime proceeds. Rodriguez received a five-year prison sentence, while Hill was sentenced to four years, each fined $250,000.
The announcement sparked mixed reactions, with some supporters expressing hope that the move would provide momentum for policies supporting cryptocurrencies. One X user also called for the pardon to be extended to Do Kwon, the founder of the collapsed Terra/Luna system.
However, critics pointed to the broader market performance during Trump's tenure, where major cryptocurrencies experienced significant declines since he took office, with some tokens dropping more than 70%.
The prosecution case against 'the simple developer'
The Justice Department presented evidence challenging the portrayal of Rodriguez and Hill as merely privacy tool developers, and according to the verdict announcement on November 19, prosecutors proved that the founders actively promoted their services to criminals.
Hill was accused of promoting the Samurai wallet on the Dread forum on the dark web, where he directly responded to a user seeking 'safe ways to clean dirty btc', recommending Whirlpool as a superior option. Reports stated that Rodriguez encouraged Twitter hackers in 2020 to funnel stolen proceeds through the mixing service and expressed disappointment when they chose a competing service.
What hurt the defense most was Rodriguez's own description of mixing as 'money laundering for Bitcoin' in WhatsApp messages, while the company's marketing materials indicated it targeted 'participants in the black/gray market' moving proceeds from 'illegal activity'.
Prosecutors stated that the criminal proceeds processed through Samurai originated from drug trafficking, black markets on the dark web, hacks, fraud, sanctioned jurisdictions, murder-for-hire schemes, and a child pornography site.
Wider implications
The case reignited the debate over developer responsibility for user actions on decentralized platforms. Privacy advocates argue that the prosecution sets a dangerous precedent for open-source software development, while law enforcement authorities assert that active promotion of criminal use crosses legal boundaries.
Online discussions have broadened to question whether Roman Storm, the Tornado Cash developer convicted on similar charges in August, might also be considered for a pardon. Storm was convicted of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business. The jury hung on the more serious charges related to money laundering and sanctions violations.
Congress continues to discuss cryptocurrency regulation. Lawmakers are introducing several bills to clarify the legal status of privacy-enhancing technologies, but none have become law yet.
Trump has previously made decisions to pardon several figures in the crypto space, including former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, establishing a pattern that fuels speculation about future pardon decisions in this sector.
