Key Takeaways
What happened?
A New York judge sentenced Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez to five years in prison for operating an unlicensed Bitcoin mixing service.
Why it matters
The ruling signals the U.S. government’s toughest stance yet on crypto privacy tools, reigniting debate over whether blockchain anonymity and financial compliance can coexist.
The U.S. government’s campaign against crypto privacy tools escalated today after Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez received a five-year prison sentence, the maximum penalty allowed under U.S. law.
According to details from Inner Press, Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York also fined Rodriguez $250,000. Also, the judge imposed three years of supervised release.
The judge described the sentence as necessary to protect “the integrity of the financial system.”
Prosecutors stated that Rodriguez and his partner, William Lonergan Hill, developed and marketed the Samourai Wallet as a Bitcoin mixer. The product allowed users to conceal illicit funds.
Additionally, the Department of Justice [DOJ] accused them of facilitating more than $237 million in illegal transactions. This includes funds linked to darknet markets, hacks, and exploitation rings.
“The defendants repeatedly encouraged criminals to use Samourai to conceal their transfers,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
They cited a 2018 WhatsApp message where Rodriguez called mixing “money laundering for Bitcoin,” and online posts where Hill claimed the wallet “cleans dirty Bitcoin.”
From innovation to indictment
Authorities arrested Rodriguez in Texas in April 2024 and detained Hill in Portugal before extraditing him to the U.S.
A June 2025 plea deal allowed both men to avoid 20-year money laundering sentences. However, they admitted to operating an unlicensed money transmission business. They also agreed to forfeit $237.8 million in profits.
Hill’s sentencing is scheduled for 19 November, where prosecutors will seek the same five-year maximum.
Rodriguez’s defense team argued that Samourai was not a criminal enterprise but a privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet that helped users protect their identities.
They said Samourai tools were even used to trace stolen Mt. Gox funds through its open-source analytics platform, OXT.
“This isn’t a licensing glitch — it’s a war on privacy,” defense lawyers said in their closing statement, warning that the verdict could discourage developers from building security tools.
A message to developers
The verdict echoes the August 2025 Tornado Cash trial, where developer Roman Storm received a similar conviction.
The DOJ’s latest conviction shows that developers of privacy tools are now squarely in the crosshairs of regulators.
