As of December 16, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated he will review the case of Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder and CEO of privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet Samourai Wallet, for a possible pardon. During an Oval Office Q&A on December 15, Trump responded to a reporter’s question about Rodriguez’s conviction, stating, “I’ve heard about it… I’ll look at it,” and directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine the matter closely.
Rodriguez, sentenced last month to five years in prison for conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, is set to report to federal prison later this week. Co-founder William Lonergan Hill received a four-year sentence. The charges stem from Samourai’s non-custodial mixing tools like Whirlpool and Ricochet, which prosecutors allege facilitated over $237 million in illicit transactions, including funds from darknet markets and hacks. Defendants argued the wallet was a legitimate privacy tool, not a custodial service.
This development follows Trump’s pattern of clemency for crypto figures, including pardons for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in October and Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht earlier this year. Advocates in the Bitcoin community hail it as a win for financial privacy and developer rights, warning that convictions like this chill innovation in open-source tools.
Rodriguez responded positively on X, thanking supporters and noting Trump’s familiarity with “weaponized” DOJ actions. A potential pardon could set precedent for similar cases, such as Tornado Cash developers, and reinforce Trump’s pro-crypto stance amid promises to end prior administration crackdowns.
On X (Twitter), the topic is exploding with activity. The hashtag #PardonSamourai has surged with over 1,500 posts in the past 24 hours, driven by community campaigns and calls for clemency. #SamouraiWallet sees around 900 recent posts, focusing on privacy debates and updates, while #FreeSamourai garners approximately 700 posts, often paired with Bitcoin advocacy threads gaining thousands of engagements.
As pressure mounts, all eyes are on whether Trump will grant clemency before Rodriguez surrenders – a move that could reshape crypto regulation and privacy protections.
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