Bitcoin Advocates Urge Trump Pardon for Samourai Wallet Developers

In November, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, the developers behind the privacy-focused Samourai Wallet, were sentenced to five and four years in prison, respectively. Their sentences stem from guilty pleas to a single charge: conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. This outcome followed a plea deal in which more serious money laundering charges were dropped. Both men are scheduled to report to prison in early January 2026, creating a narrow window for potential executive intervention.

The core of the prosecution’s case rested on classifying the non-custodial wallet software as a money-transmitting business. Unlike custodial exchanges, Samourai Wallet does not hold users’ funds; it provides software that allows users to maintain control of their own Bitcoin (BTC). Critics, including prominent policy groups, contend that this legal theory effectively criminalizes the publication of code, arguing that the developers were sentenced for creating a tool, not for operating a financial service in the traditional sense.

The call for a presidential pardon has gained significant traction within the Bitcoin community. High-profile figures have publicly voiced their support, framing the prosecution as a regulatory overreach. Veteran broadcaster and Bitcoin advocate Max Keiser, Bitcoin media entrepreneur Marty Bent, and Walker America, host of The Bitcoin Podcast, are among those urging President Trump to act. Their advocacy highlights a broader concern that the case could stifle innovation and undermine the privacy principles fundamental to cryptocurrency.

The push for clemency is not merely about the fate of two individuals but is seen as a pivotal moment for the crypto industry’s legal landscape in the United States. Advocates argue that upholding the convictions sets a precedent where developers of any privacy-enhancing or financial software could be held liable as unlicensed money transmitters, creating a chilling effect on technological development. The plea to President Trump positions the pardon not just as an act of mercy but as a necessary correction to perceived prosecutorial excess.

The Samourai Wallet case sits at the contentious intersection of financial regulation, software development, and personal privacy. The central legal question—whether non-custodial software constitutes a money-transmitting business—remains largely untested and critically important. A Washington think tank involved in the advocacy has warned that the verdict criminalizes non-custodial code, suggesting that the logic could be extended far beyond cryptocurrency to other types of software that facilitate peer-to-peer transactions.

For the Bitcoin and wider cryptocurrency community, the outcome of this pardon effort is a bellwether. It signals how the U.S. legal system may treat the architects of decentralized tools in the future. The dropped money laundering charges in the plea deal suggest the government’s case may have had weaknesses on intent, yet the remaining conspiracy conviction establishes a powerful legal tool for regulators. As Rodriguez and Hill’s reporting date approaches, their case continues to fuel debate over where the line should be drawn between legitimate software development and illegal financial operation in the digital age.