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DOJ overrules own regulator to prosecute Samourai developers

Monday, May 11, 2026 · from 3 podcasts
No AgendaRabbit Hole RecapTFTC
  • The DOJ indicted Samourai Wallet founders six months after FinCEN told prosecutors the software was legal.
  • Bitcoiners have raised just $1 million for their legal defense, a fraction of what other crypto communities mobilized.
  • Developers now see a presidential pardon as the only viable path to avoid prison for writing open-source code.

The Department of Justice is prosecuting Bitcoin developers for writing software its own financial regulator said was legal. On TFTC, Lauren Rodriguez, wife of jailed Samourai Wallet founder Keone Rodriguez, explained that FinCEN informed the DOJ of this six months before the indictment. The DOJ proceeded anyway, treating the non-custodial code as a criminal conspiracy.

"The actual regulator for money services informed the DOJ that Samourai was not in violation of the law. The DOJ proceeded anyway."

- Lauren Rodriguez, TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast

The prosecution rests on a novel legal theory: that knowing a criminal could use a tool makes the developer liable. This reverses the 1990s precedent that code is protected speech. Marty Bent argues the simultaneous no-knock raids on the developers' homes were a show of force, signaling that building privacy tools is now an inherent threat to the state.

Bitcoin's response has been tepid. On Rabbit Hole Recap, Matt Odell noted the Bitcoin Policy Institute raised just over $1 million for the defense. This pales next to the support rallied for other crypto developers. Odell argues the community now prefers speculative gains over funding the tools that make the money sovereign.

"The majority of the community now prefers speculative gains over the tools that make the money worth having in the first place."

- Matt Odell, Rabbit Hole Recap

The strategic focus has shifted to securing a presidential pardon, using the campaign to free Ross Ulbricht as a blueprint. Lauren Rodriguez estimates 35 to 70 million U.S. Bitcoin owners form a voting bloc politicians cannot ignore. Without a pardon or new law like the Clarity Act with explicit developer protections, builders of Lightning and other layers remain targets.

Privacy is not just about secrecy. It is about physical safety. Bent points to wrench attacks in France where Bitcoiners were targeted because their holdings were public. The DOJ’s move destroys defensive armor for law-abiding citizens while doing nothing to stop crime. The precedent turns every open-source contributor into a potential felon.

#Privacy#Regulation#Payments
Marty BentMatt OdellBitcoin Policy InstituteBitcoinDOJFrance

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No Agenda Show
No Agenda Show

Adam Curry

1867 - "Transmission Window" • May 10

  • Amsterdam banned public advertising for fossil fuel products on May 1st, 2026, including ads for petrol cars, airlines, meat, and cruise lines on billboards, tram shelters, and metro stations.
  • Amsterdam authorities have decided to nearly halve the number of cruise ships allowed to dock and are looking to ban cruise ships completely by 2035, and the city has also reduced available flight slots at its major hub airport.
  • Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb stated the transmission window for the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak would close within about two weeks and called ivermectin ineffective, as the virus replicates in the cytoplasm, not the nucleus.
  • Gottlieb said the FDA's oncology division has lost about half its medical reviewers, dropping from 100 to 50, and its hematological review team dropped from 21 to 6, due to voluntary and involuntary departures.
  • A study cited by Curry found the median trial duration for antidepressants is eight weeks, while the median real-world use in the US is five years, creating a significant evidence gap for long-term effects and withdrawal.
Also from this episode: (9)

Media (1)

  • Dutch public television runs 21 commercials for every 12 minutes of programming, a commercial-to-content ratio worse than the United States according to Curry.

Politics (6)

  • Peter Mogyoró is the new Prime Minister of Hungary, succeeding Viktor Orbán and pledging to investigate corruption from the previous 20-year era and restart the economy.
  • In UK local elections, the Reform Party gained significant ground, with analysts calling it a seismic shift potentially ending the Conservative-Labour duopoly, driven by economic discontent, immigration anger, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer's unpopularity.
  • Three men, including two Ukrainians, are on trial at the Old Bailey for conspiring to commit arson against properties and a vehicle linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with the prosecution alleging financial, not political, motives.
  • Rep. Thomas Massie expressed disappointment with Trump for not ending the Ukraine war, releasing Epstein files, or placing RFK Jr. at HHS, despite previously endorsing him for an 'America First' foreign policy.
  • The Pentagon released 160 government files detailing 400 alleged UFO encounters, but astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson remains skeptical, suggesting unexplained objects are more likely unknown earthly technology than extraterrestrial visits.
  • A viral claim by an Alabama pastor stated Rep. Eric Burlison warned that impending UFO disclosure would assert aliens seeded humanity and that God and Jesus were inventions, a claim Burlison denies and the pastor later apologized for.

Health (2)

  • Dr. Michael Osterholm stated the average number of hantavirus cases in the US is about 30 per year, with about 96% occurring west of the Mississippi River, primarily from exposure to mouse feces or urine.
  • Curry cites a Pfizer document listing hantavirus pulmonary infection as an adverse event of special interest, speculating it could be reactivated by the mRNA vaccine to create a pandemic-like scenario.
#Europe#Regulation#Elections#Immigration
Rabbit Hole Recap
Rabbit Hole Recap

RABBIT HOLE RECAP #408: THE LAYOFFS CONTINUE • May 7

  • Keone Rodriguez and Bill from Samurai Wallet face $2 million in legal debt and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to unlicensed money transmission.
  • Odell argues the Clarity Act's developer protections are essential to prevent future prosecutions like Samurai Wallet, but fears the rest of the bill only benefits corporate shitcoiners.
  • Odell warns the Guard Act passed Senate Judiciary unanimously, requiring age verification for AI chatbots as a Trojan horse for digital identity.
  • Matt highlights Utah's SB 275 digital identity law that mandates self-sovereign IDs using open-source protocols with user-controlled private keys and bans phone-home surveillance.
  • Matt warns South Africa's proposed law mandates full wealth disclosure and criminalizes non-compliance, posing a direct threat to self-custody and property rights for Bitcoiners there.
Also from this episode: (9)

BTC Markets (1)

  • Matt highlights Bitcoin's role as a safe haven when central banks devalue currencies, framing it as the victor in a fiat world.

Politics (1)

  • Matt notes Bitcoin Policy Institute raised just over $1 million for their defense fund, far less than Tornado Cash developers received, highlighting a disparity in community support.

Adoption (1)

  • Matt observes attendance for Bitcoin-as-freedom-money talks was sparse at the conference, while tokenization events drew crowds, indicating a shift in community interests.

Protocol (5)

  • Odell says the percentage of Bitcoiners focused on freedom money has never been lower, despite the absolute number growing, creating a frustrating fracturing within the community.
  • Matt criticizes MSTR's retail-focused earnings calls and Saylor's willingness to sell Bitcoin for dividends, questioning the constant goalpost shifting around the company's financial strategy.
  • Odell points out executive compensation at Bitcoin treasury clones can reach $15-20 million annually, while open source devs on grants make around $100,000, illustrating a stark resource disconnect.
  • Matt notes OpenSats distributes about $1 million monthly to over 200 grant recipients in 40+ countries, funding more than 400 developers total.
  • Odell details a Bitcoin Core vulnerability affecting versions 0.14.0 to 29.0, where a specially crafted block could cause a node crash via a use-after-free bug.

Big Tech (1)

  • Matt says Coinbase's 14% layoffs cut about 700-800 employees, attributing it to both AI-driven efficiency gains and past capital misallocation during low-interest eras.
#BTC Markets#Privacy#Regulation#Macro#Adoption
TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast
TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast

Marty Bent

#742: Why Privacy Is Non-Negotiable with Lauren Rodriguez • May 6

  • Lauren Rodriguez says her husband, Samurai Wallet co-founder Keone, is unjustly imprisoned, and their lives were upended by a DOJ raid with no prior contact or warning.
  • The government charged Keone and co-defendant Bill with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter business and conspiracy to money launder, despite FinCEN guidance indicating they were not in violation.
  • Rodriguez argues the case sets a dangerous precedent that developers are liable for user actions, equating it to holding messaging app creators responsible if criminals use their software.
  • Marty Bent asserts financial privacy is a prerequisite for freedom, citing that tools like Samurai Wallet restore basic transactional privacy lost in Bitcoin's transparent ledger.
  • Bent and Rodriguez warn that without privacy, Bitcoin becomes a perfect panopticon, creating physical security risks like the public target lists for Bitcoin holders in France.
  • Rodriguez says the DOJ's forfeiture of Samurai's website led to scammers recreating it, creating real victims where the original service had none.
  • Marty Bent cites a 2024 crypto brief where the administration seeks to expand the Patriot Act to include digital currencies, which would require impossible KYC/AML compliance for open-source software.
  • Bent argues that existing KYC/AML laws are ineffective, citing data that they prevent only a tiny fraction of illicit funds while creating massive data breach risks.
  • Rodriguez connects the attack on financial privacy tools to a broader erosion of rights, using the analogy of blinds on windows and locks on doors as fundamental privacy norms.
  • Marty Bent warns of a regulatory slippery slope, noting the Bank Secrecy Act's $10,000 reporting threshold from 1970 is equivalent to nearly $70,000 today due to currency devaluation.
Also from this episode: (1)

Politics (1)

  • Rodriguez calls for a presidential pardon and public pressure, directing listeners to billandkeone.org to sign petitions and donate towards their $2 million in legal debt.
#Regulation#Open Source#Digital Sovereignty#BTC Markets#Censorship

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