Five Years for Samourai Wallet

A New York court has sentenced Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, to five years in prison for operating an unlicensed Bitcoin mixing service. Investigators say the platform was used to launder more than $237 million, marking one of the toughest sentences yet in the U.S. crackdown on privacy-focused crypto tools.

Judge Denise Cote also imposed a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release following Rodriguez’s prison term. She argued that the harsh punishment was necessary to protect “the integrity of the financial system.”

According to prosecutors, Rodriguez and his partner William Lonergan Hill created and promoted Samourai Wallet as a Bitcoin mixer designed to conceal the origin of funds. The U.S. Department of Justice claims that more than $237 million in illicit transactions flowed through the app, including money from darknet markets and hacking operations. Court documents cite a message from Rodriguez describing the mixer as “money laundering for Bitcoin.”

Rodriguez was arrested in Texas in April 2024, while Hill was detained in Portugal. In June 2025, both men pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, avoiding a possible 20-year sentence for money laundering. They also agreed to forfeit $237.8 million in illicit proceeds. Prosecutors are seeking the same five-year sentence for Hill, whose sentencing is scheduled for November 19.

The defense argued that Samourai Wallet was built to protect user privacy, not to facilitate crime. Lawyers warned that such harsh rulings could discourage developers from creating tools that enhance online security and anonymity.

Rodriguez’s case mirrors that of Roman Storm, the developer of Tornado Cash, who was convicted in August 2025. U.S. authorities are sending an increasingly clear message: in the world of cryptocurrencies, privacy is becoming a target of law enforcement — not a right for users.