A US judge sentences William Lonergan Hill, who co-founded crypto mixer Samourai Wallet, to four years in prison for laundering $200M+ in illegal transactions
The case sits alongside convictions tied to other mixers, including Bitcoin Fog's operator and the operator of Helix, giving the Samourai outcome relevance beyond one service.
First-order effects
Hill will serve a four-year prison term for conduct tied to more than $200 million in illegal transactions; Samourai Wallet's two co-founders have now both been sentenced.
The outcome follows the government's earlier allegation that the service enabled more than $100 million in laundering transactions, converting that enforcement action into completed convictions and sentences for its founders.
Second-order effects
Operators and backers of crypto-mixing services face a clearer litigation and sentencing risk, reinforced by the paired Samourai sentences and prior mixer cases.
The differing four- and five-year terms for Samourai's co-founders provide another concrete reference point for defendants and prosecutors resolving similar allegations.
Third-order effects
If enforcement against mixer operators continues across services, privacy-oriented crypto infrastructure may increasingly be judged by how it is operated and used, rather than treated as neutral software alone.
The pattern could deepen a divide between services able to demonstrate controls against illicit use and those exposed to allegations that they facilitate laundering; the corpus does not establish how broadly that line will be applied.
The trend: The Samourai sentences are part of a sustained move from charging crypto-mixer operators to securing convictions and prison terms across multiple services.
It would mean a lot if you would sign this petition calling on @realDonaldTrump to pardon me and Bill In 30 days we will report to prison. Unless the President steps in. Developers shouldn't be liable for the actions of bad actors using their software #freesamourai
Code is free speech and privacy is a right. This is Phill Zimmerman and PGP all over again. Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht and he needs to do the same for the @SamouraiWallet developers.
Sad day. The noose continues to tighten. I never liked or understood why he was so toxic (especially to Monero folk), but have been and will continue to hope for his best. 🙏. All “privacy coins” and projects need to stand united behind the Samourai devs. Money is speech.
Everyone that has benefited even slightly from Crypto & Bitcoin over the past 15+ years that's in the USA should, at a minimum, do this. Privacy matters & code is not a crime.
Writing open-source software is not a crime... code is speech, and speech is protected by the First Amendment. If President Trump truly cares about freedom and making America the Bitcoin superpower of the world, then he should PARDON the Samourai Wallet developers.
The perceived corruption associated with the CZ pardon will look even worse if the Samourai Wallet devs aren't pardoned for similar charges. How much of World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin does one need to hold to receive a pardon?
This guy worked on XMR<>BTC atomic swaps. He built permissionless privacy tools... and now he is standing in front of a judge. He will most likely be sentenced to multiple years in prison. When will it end?