Samourai Wallet Co-Founder William Hill Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison

Samourai Wallet co-founder William Hill, 67, was sentenced to four years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The sentence was reduced due to his age and autism diagnosis, and he will begin serving time in January 2026. Prosecutors alleged the wallet facilitated over $237 million in illegal transactions linked to drug trafficking and other crimes, using features like 'Whirlpool' mixing and 'Ricochet' to obscure transaction trails. Evidence included Hill's own promotion of the service on darknet forums to 'clean dirty BTC.' This case, alongside the sentencing of co-founder Keonne Rodriguez, is part of a broader government crackdown on crypto privacy tools, leading other wallets like Wasabi and Sparrow to restrict services, and causing some blockchain developers to leave the U.S. due to regulatory uncertainty.

(Source：Brave New Coin)