Samourai co-founder claims Biden-era lawfare in calling for Trump pardon

cointelegraph2025-12-19 tarihinde yayınlandı2025-12-19 tarihinde güncellendi

Özet

Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, is publicly requesting a pardon from President Donald Trump after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitter and receiving a five-year sentence. Rodriguez claims his prosecution was "lawfare" by a "weaponized Biden DOJ" with no victims involved. His plea mirrors language used in successful pardon applications, such as those for Silk Road's Ross Ulbricht and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Rodriguez expressed hope that Trump, who previously stated he would "take a look" at the case, will view the prosecution as an anti-innovation, anti-American attack and grant him and co-founder William Hill a pardon.

Keonne Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to one felony count related to his role at Samourai Wallet, is calling on US President Donald Trump to pardon him, citing similar language that has been successful in previous pardon applications.

In a Thursday X post, Rodriguez said he would report to prison on Friday, where he will serve a five-year sentence for operating an illegal money transmitter. The Samourai co-founder claimed there were no “victims” to his crime, and blamed his incarceration on “lawfare perpetrated by a weaponized Biden DOJ.”

In a message tagging Trump, Rodriguez expressed hope that the US president would issue a federal pardon for him and William “Bill” Lonergan Hill, another Samourai executive who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years. Rodriguez blamed “activist judges” for his legal troubles, claiming he was targeted by a “political anti-innovation agenda.”

“I maintain hope that [Trump] is a fair man, a man of the people, who will see this prosecution for what it was: an anti innovation, anti american, attack on the rights and liberties of free people,” said Rodriguez. “I believe his team [...] and others truly want to end the weaponization of the DOJ that the previous administration wielded so effectively [...] I believe he will continue to wield that power for good and pardon me and Bill.”

Related: Samourai Wallet co-founders to now plead guilty to US charges

Rodriguez’s public plea followed Trump's statement that he would “take a look” at a pardon for the Samourai co-founder, claiming that he had no knowledge of the case. It’s unclear whether Rodriguez filed an official application for a pardon or is relying on public statements to get the president’s attention.

Other crypto execs successfully lobbied for a Trump pardon

One of Trump’s first acts as president in January was to issue a pardon for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who had been serving a life sentence for his role in creating and operating the darknet marketplace.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who pleaded guilty to one felony in 2023 related to the exchange’s Anti-Money Laundering program, served four months in prison but also received a pardon from the president. Trump later said he “[knew] nothing about” Zhao when asked about the pardon in a November interview.

Rodguiez’s language addressing Trump mirrored comments from the White House on previous pardons. For example, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was a “weaponization of justice from the previous administration” when the president commuted the sentence of David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding “thousands of individual investors in a $1.6 billion” scheme in 2024.

Crypto users on Polymarket were not given the choice of betting on the odds of a Trump pardon of Rodriguez as of Friday. At the time of publication, Trump ally Steve Bannon had the highest odds, at 9%.

Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice

Trend Kriptolar

CitreaCTR

wrapped stUSDTWSTUSDT

Velodrome FinanceVELODROME

BrevisBREV

ZRX（0X）ZRX

PancakeSwapCAKE

İlgili Sorular

QWhat crime did Keonne Rodriguez plead guilty to and what is his sentence?

AKeonne Rodriguez pleaded guilty to one felony count related to operating an illegal money transmitter and was sentenced to five years in prison.

QWho is the other Samourai executive mentioned in the article and what was his sentence?

AThe other executive is William 'Bill' Lonergan Hill, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison.

QWhich two prominent figures in the crypto space did President Trump previously pardon, as mentioned in the article?

APresident Trump pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and former Binance CEO Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao.

QWhat reason does Rodriguez give for his prosecution, and what does he hope President Trump will do?

ARodriguez blames his prosecution on 'lawfare perpetrated by a weaponized Biden DOJ' and 'activist judges,' and he hopes President Trump will issue a federal pardon for him and his colleague.

QAccording to the article, what was the stated reason for the pardon of David Gentile, as an example of similar language used by the White House?

AThe stated reason for David Gentile's commutation was a 'weaponization of justice from the previous administration.'

İlgili Okumalar

Blockchain.com Expands Tokenized Stock Access Through Ondo Finance

Blockchain.com has expanded its partnership with Ondo Finance to integrate tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs into its wallet ecosystem. This move allows eligible, primarily non-U.S., users to access traditional financial assets through a familiar crypto-native interface, blending real-world asset exposure with existing crypto holdings like stablecoins and DeFi tools. Ondo Finance, a key player in tokenizing assets like Treasuries and equities, gains a significant distribution channel through Blockchain.com's large user base. The partnership highlights the industry trend of making tokenized assets as accessible as ordinary crypto tokens, targeting global audiences who may face barriers using traditional brokerage services. While the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market grows increasingly competitive, questions remain around custody, regulation, and market structure. Blockchain.com and Ondo are betting that seamless wallet integration can address these challenges and drive broader adoption.

bitcoinist1 saat önce

Blockchain.com Expands Tokenized Stock Access Through Ondo Finance

bitcoinist1 saat önce

CPU Makes a Comeback to the Table, A $170 Billion "Power Seizure" Drama Begins

A new era is dawning for the server CPU (Central Processing Unit), driven by the shift from AI model training to large-scale reasoning and the rise of Agentic AI. This article explores how the CPU is reclaiming a central role in the AI data center. For years, the focus has been on the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) for AI training. However, as AI moves to the inference and Agent phase—where tasks involve complex, multi-step reasoning, tool calls, and data management—the workload balance is flipping. Studies show CPUs now handle over 70% of the workload in Agentic AI, up from 10-30% in training. This is because Agent tasks generate massive intermediate data (KV Cache) that exceeds GPU memory, forcing it to be offloaded to the CPU's larger, more scalable memory pools. This increased importance is translating into market changes. Major players are taking note: NVIDIA launched its first standalone CPU line, Vera, based on ARM architecture and optimized for Agent performance. AMD doubled its server CPU market forecast to over $1200 billion by 2030. Analyst reports project the total server CPU market could reach $1700 billion by 2030, with AI-driven demand being a primary driver. Furthermore, the classic ratio of CPUs to GPUs in AI servers is rapidly changing, converging from 1:8 toward 1:1 for Agent deployments. This surge in demand has led to a rare industry-wide price increase of 10-15% for server CPUs from Intel and AMD, breaking a decade-long trend of "more performance for the same price." Demand is bifurcating into high-core-count CPUs for in-rack GPU support and moderate-core CPUs for standalone Agent task orchestration. In China, this global trend presents an opportunity for domestic CPU manufacturers like Hygon (海光信息) and Huawei Kunpeng, who are bolstered by both growing AI infrastructure needs and national policies promoting technological self-reliance ("xin chuang"). The maturity of their software ecosystems is also accelerating, evidenced by faster adaptation to new AI models. In conclusion, the narrative is shifting from a GPU-centric view to one where CPU-GPU synergy is critical. The CPU is no longer a peripheral component but a performance-defining bottleneck and a key growth driver in the AI hardware stack, opening a massive new market estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

marsbit1 saat önce

CPU Makes a Comeback to the Table, A $170 Billion "Power Seizure" Drama Begins

marsbit1 saat önce

TechFlow Intelligence: AMD AI Director Publicly Criticizes Claude Code for "Becoming Dumber and Lazier", Trump Claims Full Ceasefire in Hormuz But Strait Still Has 80 Unexploded Mines

TechFlow Intelligence Report: This daily digest covers key developments in AI, crypto, hardware, and geopolitics. In AI, SK Telecom faces US export control scrutiny over its partnership with Anthropic, while a Gemini user reports being misled in a scam scenario, sparking safety debates. China's Z.AI launches the GLM-5.2 model, rivaling Claude Opus without NVIDIA chips. In crypto, Bithumb lists ReProtocol, and Upbit delists KernelDAO. On the hardware front, MIT researchers build a custom OS to study chips, ASML denies US claims its advanced lithography machines are in China, and Amazon considers selling its in-house AI chips. Apple's future A21 Pro chip may use TSMC's latest N2P process. Major tech issues include 10,000 GitHub repositories distributing malware and Apple patching a critical eavesdropping flaw in Beats earbuds. US stocks rise, led by semiconductors, with Intel surging 10.6%, while SpaceX falls 3.5%. Geopolitically, despite a US-Iran deal, the Strait of Hormuz remains risky with ~80 uncleared mines, stalling 80M barrels of oil on standby tankers. Iran postpones Switzerland talks, and Trump calls the agreement an "unconditional surrender." The report highlights a contrast: temporary geopolitical calm versus the ongoing, fundamental restructuring of tech supply chains and chip independence.

marsbit1 saat önce

TechFlow Intelligence: AMD AI Director Publicly Criticizes Claude Code for "Becoming Dumber and Lazier", Trump Claims Full Ceasefire in Hormuz But Strait Still Has 80 Unexploded Mines

marsbit1 saat önce

South Korea Moves to Regulate Cross-Border Crypto Transfers Under New Framework

South Korea is expanding its regulatory framework for cross-border virtual asset transfers, set to launch in December, by including fintech companies. Under the new rules, firms conducting such transfers must register with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and report transactions through the foreign exchange system. The move aims to bring previously unsupervised crypto transfers under formal oversight to address money laundering and crime risks. While initial expectations were that major crypto exchanges like Upbit would dominate the new licensing system, regulators now plan to extend eligibility to non-traditional entities, including fintech firms, if they can efficiently perform transfers. Authorities are finalizing implementation rules with industry stakeholders ahead of the December launch. This framework is part of broader efforts to strengthen digital asset oversight in South Korea, which includes developing rules for tokenized securities, potentially subjecting them to securities taxes.

TheNewsCrypto3 saat önce

South Korea Moves to Regulate Cross-Border Crypto Transfers Under New Framework

TheNewsCrypto3 saat önce

Matt Damon To Speak At Ripple Swell As Water.org’s RLUSD Push Draws Attention

Matt Damon is scheduled to deliver a keynote at Ripple Swell 2026, representing the non-profit Water.org which he co-founded. His appearance highlights a partnership between Water.org’s "Get Blue" campaign and Ripple, the campaign’s exclusive digital asset and payments partner. Ripple will utilize its payment network and RLUSD stablecoin to facilitate faster, lower-cost cross-border transactions for the campaign’s microfinance partners. This collaboration provides RLUSD with a mainstream, humanitarian use case focused on operational efficiency in aid funding, moving beyond typical stablecoin narratives centered on trading and finance. For Ripple, the partnership offers a reputational boost by framing its technology as practical payment infrastructure for social impact, though the actual adoption and scale of such use cases remain to be seen.

bitcoinist3 saat önce

Matt Damon To Speak At Ripple Swell As Water.org’s RLUSD Push Draws Attention

bitcoinist3 saat önce

İşlemler

Spot

Futures

Popüler Makaleler

ERA Nasıl Satın Alınır

HTX.com’a hoş geldiniz! Caldera (ERA) satın alma işlemlerini basit ve kullanışlı bir hâle getirdik. Adım adım açıkladığımız rehberimizi takip ederek kripto yolculuğunuza başlayın. 1. Adım: HTX Hesabınızı OluşturunHTX'te ücretsiz bir hesap açmak için e-posta adresinizi veya telefon numaranızı kullanın. Sorunsuzca kaydolun ve tüm özelliklerin kilidini açın. Hesabımı Aç2. Adım: Kripto Satın Al Bölümüne Gidin ve Ödeme Yönteminizi SeçinKredi/Banka Kartı: Visa veya Mastercard'ınızı kullanarak anında Caldera (ERA) satın alın.Bakiye: Sorunsuz bir şekilde işlem yapmak için HTX hesap bakiyenizdeki fonları kullanın.Üçüncü Taraflar: Kullanımı kolaylaştırmak için Google Pay ve Apple Pay gibi popüler ödeme yöntemlerini ekledik.P2P: HTX'teki diğer kullanıcılarla doğrudan işlem yapın.Borsa Dışı (OTC): Yatırımcılar için kişiye özel hizmetler ve rekabetçi döviz kurları sunuyoruz.3. Adım: Caldera (ERA) Varlıklarınızı SaklayınCaldera (ERA) satın aldıktan sonra HTX hesabınızda saklayın. Alternatif olarak, blok zinciri transferi yoluyla başka bir yere gönderebilir veya diğer kripto para birimlerini takas etmek için kullanabilirsiniz.4. Adım: Caldera (ERA) Varlıklarınızla İşlem YapınHTX'in spot piyasasında Caldera (ERA) ile kolayca işlemler yapın.Hesabınıza erişin, işlem çiftinizi seçin, işlemlerinizi gerçekleştirin ve gerçek zamanlı olarak izleyin. Hem yeni başlayanlar hem de deneyimli yatırımcılar için kullanıcı dostu bir deneyim sunuyoruz.

494 Toplam GörüntülenmeYayınlanma 2025.07.17Güncellenme 2026.06.02

Tartışmalar

HTX Topluluğuna hoş geldiniz. Burada, en son platform gelişmeleri hakkında bilgi sahibi olabilir ve profesyonel piyasa görüşlerine erişebilirsiniz. Kullanıcıların ERA (ERA) fiyatı hakkındaki görüşleri aşağıda sunulmaktadır.