Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder and lead developer of Samourai Wallet, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison following his conviction for operating an unlicensed money transmission business and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The sentencing marks a significant development in regulatory enforcement against cryptocurrency privacy tools.
Federal prosecutors successfully argued that Samourai Wallet’s mixing service processed over $100 million in illicit transactions through its cryptocurrency tumbler, which obscures transaction trails by blending multiple Bitcoin transfers. The platform allegedly facilitated money laundering activities while operating outside established financial regulatory frameworks.
Court documents revealed that between 2015 and its shutdown in April 2024, Samourai Wallet executed approximately 80,000 Bitcoin transactions valued at more than $2 billion using its proprietary mixing protocol. The service charged users between 1-5% fees for privacy-enhancing transactions that authorities claim deliberately circumvented anti-money laundering requirements.
The sentencing underscores increasing regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency privacy tools and establishes potential precedents for future cases involving financial privacy technologies. Legal experts suggest this ruling may influence how developers approach creating financial privacy solutions within the digital asset ecosystem moving forward.
