The co-founder of Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez, was given the maximum prison time this week after his guilty plea in a US federal case linked to tools that allowed Bitcoin users to attempt to conceal their transactions.
On November 6, 2025, a judge imposed the longest prison term of five years sought by prosecutors for that count. His co-founder, William Lonergan Hill, faces related proceedings after being arrested overseas; extradition efforts are underway.
Defense: He lived in a $250,000 home in Harmony, PA unlike SBF. He’s an engineer. He’s a warm family man. Keonne Rodriguez: I agree with what my counsel said. My letter, I wanted it to be personal. I’ve been silent for 18 months. I wanted to bring my story to you
Prosecutors say that more than $100 million of criminal proceeds were laundered through features allowing users to mix or route coins via extra hops.
The tools at the center of the case — known as Whirlpool and Ricochet — were repeatedly mentioned in filings as methods that made tracing funds difficult. The government also said the founders marketed these features in ways they said appealed to bad actors.
Records show the charge of unlicensed money-transmitting business carries up to five years in prison. The federal probation office had suggested a term below that, recommending about 42 months, but prosecutors asked the court to impose the full five-year sentence.
Those figures were based on court documents and public statements by the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York.
That has left defense lawyers and outside experts focusing on what the case means for software developers and privacy tools that operate in the cryptocurrency space.
Legal filings reflect a complex combination of criminal allegations and regulatory questions, and in various hearings, both parties used technical and legal arguments.
The sentence has drawn sharp takes from different corners. Privacy advocates warn that criminal penalties aimed at developers could chill open-source work and set new limits on tools used by ordinary people to protect their financial privacy.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
