Trump has already pardoned two crypto heavyweights, Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao in October and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht in January.
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US President Donald Trump says he will review the case of convicted Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez, hinting he will explore the possibility of a pardon.
Samourai Wallet co-founders Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill were on Nov. 19 to five and four years in prison on charges stemming from their involvement in .
“I’ve heard about it, I’ll look at it,” Trump when asked about the case at a press conference about the Mexican border at the White House on Monday.
“Okay, let’s take a look at it. You know, you’ll have to tell me. I don’t know anything about it, but we’ll take a look,” he added.
Privacy advocates and crypto users have long been for Rodriguez and Hill, along with , arguing they shouldn’t be held responsible for the actions of third parties using their software.
Samourai co-founder says “noise is working”
Rodriguez, who is due to start his time behind bars this week, in an X post on Monday that the “continued noise” from supporters is working. “Thank you to everyone pushing Donald Trump to pardon Bill and me. Let’s get this over the line.”
In an interview with Natalie Brunell on Friday, Rodriguez he thought there was a chance of receiving a pardon if the case were presented to Trump and the top officials in the administration.
I appreciate taking some tough questions on the Samourai Wallet case. No topic was off limits.
Keonne is getting ready to report to prison on December 19th but there is an active movement to , and Keonne hopes President Trump hears his story.
If you care…
— Natalie Brunell ⚡️ (@natbrunell)
“Because President Trump has been touched by a DOJ that was weaponized against him, I think when he sees the facts laid out on the table, he will know exactly what’s going on,” Rodriguez said.
Conventional appeal is unlikely
Rodriguez also said it’s his understanding he waived his right to appeal the sentence when he took the plea deal, adding that he’s not “100% on that, but my understanding is appeal is pretty unlikely.”
Rodriguez and Hill initially pleaded to one charge of operating an illegal money transmitter in July.
They faced at least 25 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, which carries a sentence of up to five years.
Up until the sentencing hearing, Rodriguez said he regretted pleading guilty but feared the judge wouldn’t allow key evidence to be used in his defense, such as receiving legal advice before launching Samourai Wallet.
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After crunching the numbers, he also found a “conviction means 25 years, even if you appeal, that you’re sitting in prison for five years waiting for your appeal, your appeal is going to cost you another $7 million on top of the four and a half million you’ve already spent to get to this point. So the numbers just didn’t make any sense.”
Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, Ross Ulbricht
Since taking office, Trump in October, after he pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to maintain an effective Anti–Money Laundering program at Binance, in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the defunct darknet marketplace the Silk Road, was also on his life sentence in January.
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