Bitcoin Policy Institute calls for Samourai pardon as petition tops 3,200
Advocates urge President Trump to pardon Samourai wallet developers as a petition exceeds 3,200 signatures.Summary
Bitcoin advocates and policy groups, including the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), are calling on US President Donald Trump to pardon Samourai wallet developers Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, who are scheduled to report to prison in early January 2026 after pleading guilty to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
The BPI argues that the prosecution misapplied federal money-transmission law to non-custodial software, asserting that treating the developers as money transmitters erases the legal distinction between software publishers and financial intermediaries, thereby chilling innovation in privacy-preserving Bitcoin tools.
Support for the developers is growing, with a pardon petition surpassing 3,200 signatures. High-profile figures like Max Keiser and Marty Bent have voiced support, and some community members note the optics of potentially pardoning a billionaire exchange founder (CZ) while incarcerating open-source wallet developers for similar charges.
(Source：Cointelegraph)