Trump considers pardoning Samourai Wallet developer before prison sentence

Key points:

• Donald Trump confirmed that he is familiar with the Samourai Wallet case and is considering the possibility of pardoning the developer.
• Project co-founder Keonne Rodriguez was sentenced to five years for his involvement in creating a tool for confidential bitcoin transactions.

US President Donald Trump said he would consider a request for clemency for Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez. He told reporters about this during a public event in the Oval Office, responding to a question about the crypto project case.

According to Trump, he has instructed US Attorney General Pam Bondi to study the case materials in detail and present her conclusions to him.

“I’ve heard about it, I’ll look at it,” the president said, addressing the head of the Justice Department.

Rodriguez is due to report to federal prison on Friday to serve a five-year sentence. He was convicted of participating in the creation of Samourai Wallet, a bitcoin application designed to increase transaction privacy. The US Department of Justice classified the project as an illegal money transfer system.

Why were the developers of Samourai Wallet convicted?

Criminal charges against Rodriguez and the project’s second co-founder, William Lonergan Hill, were brought in 2024, during the Biden administration. Investigators insisted that the developers were effectively controlling an unlicensed financial service and facilitating money laundering.

Both defendants agreed to plead guilty to one count, waiving their right to a trial. If they had gone to trial, they could have faced up to 25 years in prison. In the end, Rodriguez was sentenced to the maximum term of five years, and Hill was sentenced to four years in prison.

Court sentences Samourai Wallet co-founder to four years in prison

According to the investigation, the app served as a tool for laundering criminal proceeds.

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Despite the change in administration, the Trump Justice Department did not drop the charges and sought the maximum punishment. This drew sharp criticism from the crypto community and human rights organizations.

Recently, the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) called on the US president to pardon the developers, stating that the law on unlicensed money transfers had been misapplied. According to BPI analysts, the sentence effectively criminalizes the development of software code and sets a dangerous precedent for the entire bitcoin ecosystem.