Prosecutors are pursuing felony charges against Bitcoin developers for building software, explicitly contradicting the regulatory agency tasked with interpreting the law.
Lauren Rodriguez, wife of Samurai Wallet co-founder Keone Rodriguez, described on *What Bitcoin Did* how FBI agents raided their home. The couple was charged by the Southern District of New York with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money service business and conspiracy to launder money. Their crime was developing a non-custodial wallet with privacy features like Tor and CoinJoin.
The critical twist came six months before the indictment. Prosecutors had asked the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) if Samurai Wallet was a money service business. FinCEN’s guidance since 2013 has been clear: entities that never take custody of user funds are not money transmitters. The agency told the prosecutors “emphatically, no.”
Rodriguez argues the case proceeded anyway, revealing a system where victory trumps truth. This isn’t a minor legal dispute - it’s a direct challenge to the premise that developers can rely on published regulatory rules.
The precedent is stark. Building privacy-preserving Bitcoin tools, even with a decade of clear operational history and explicit regulatory approval, can now lead to an armed raid and a potential five-year prison sentence. The war isn’t on crime; it’s on certain kinds of code.
Lauren Rodriguez, What Bitcoin Did:
- These are the prosecutors who brought charges asked, do you think, FinCEN, that Samurai Wallet is a money service business?
- And they had said emphatically, no, they're not because they don't take custody.
