Trump to Review/Possibly Pardon Samourai Wallet Co‑Founder Keonne Rodriguez
US President Donald Trump said he will review and may pardon Keonne Rodriguez, co‑founder of privacy‑focused Bitcoin wallet Samourai Wallet, instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine the case. Rodriguez and co‑founder William Lonergan Hill pleaded guilty in July to charges including operating an unlicensed money‑transmitting business and conspiracy related to laundering funds prosecutors estimate at about $237 million; they received sentences of roughly five and four years. Rodriguez has a near‑term reporting date, making potential executive intervention time‑sensitive. The case has drawn privacy advocates’ criticism for holding developers liable for third‑party uses of open‑source tools and is discussed alongside other high‑profile prosecutions (for example, Tornado Cash). The development follows a trend of presidential clemency in crypto cases (Ross Ulbricht, Changpeng Zhao) and comes amid broader changes in US crypto enforcement. For traders: the story heightens regulatory and political risk around Bitcoin privacy tools and developer liability, could increase short‑term volatility for Bitcoin (BTC) sentiment tied to privacy narratives, and may influence policy expectations for privacy‑enhancing services. Primary keywords: Samourai Wallet, pardon, privacy wallet, Bitcoin, developer liability. Secondary/semantic keywords: DOJ, money‑transmitting, executive clemency, Tornado Cash, regulatory risk.
Neutral
This news primarily concerns legal and political developments around a Bitcoin privacy wallet and potential executive clemency rather than a technical protocol change or market catalyst for a specific token. Direct price impact on Bitcoin (BTC) is likely muted and short‑lived: traders may react to heightened regulatory uncertainty around privacy tools, causing temporary volatility in BTC sentiment, but a pardon or review does not change on‑chain fundamentals. Long term, a presidential pardon could reduce perceived enforcement risk for privacy‑focused services, which might be mildly bullish for privacy tool adoption or sentiment — but only if it signals sustained policy shifts. Conversely, ongoing prosecutions and regulatory scrutiny keep structural downside risk for privacy projects. Therefore the net expected market effect is neutral, with possible short‑term spikes in volatility tied to news flow and political signaling.