Trump Open to Reviewing Samourai Wallet Pardon Request

This review from Trump could open the door for potential pardon as the support from privacy advocates and crypto users grows. Since Trump returned to office, the Securities and Exchange Commission sharply reduced crypto enforcement by pausing or dismissing roughly 60% of related cases. 

Samourai Wallet Case Catches Trump’s Eye

US President Donald Trump said that  he will review the case of Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez. This means that Trump may explore the possibility of a pardon as pressure from privacy advocates and crypto users mounts. Speaking at a White House press conference on Monday focused on the US-Mexico border, Trump responded to a question about the case by saying he heard about it and would “take a look,” adding that he was not yet familiar with the details but was open to reviewing them.

Rodriguez is a co-founder of the Bitcoin-focused privacy wallet Samourai, and was sentenced on Nov. 19 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. His co-founder, William Lonergan Hill, received a four-year sentence. 

The pair originally pleaded not guilty to more serious charges, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carried a potential maximum sentence of 20 years, alongside the money transmitter charge, which carries up to five years. Combined, the charges exposed them to at least 25 years in prison before they agreed to a plea deal in July.

Announcement from the SEC

The case quickly became a flashpoint in the debate over developer liability and financial privacy. Critics argue that Rodriguez and Hill are being punished for how third parties used open-source software they created. Those concerns also extended to other cases, including the prosecution of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, which privacy advocates say reflects an aggressive interpretation of money-transmitter laws by the US Department of Justice.

Rodriguez is expected to begin serving his sentence this week, and said in a post on X that growing public attention is having an impact. He thanked supporters for urging Trump to intervene and said the “continued noise” around the case is working. 

In a recent interview with Bitcoin educator Natalie Brunell, Rodriguez said he believes there is a realistic chance of a pardon if the case is properly presented to Trump and senior officials in his administration. He suggested Trump’s own experiences with what he has described as a “weaponized” Justice Department could make him more receptive once the facts are reviewed.

Rodriguez has also indicated that a traditional appeal is unlikely. He said he believes he waived his right to appeal as part of the plea agreement, although he is not entirely certain. 

Crypto Enforcement Slows Sharply at SEC

Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) scaled back cryptocurrency enforcement at a much higher rate than other areas of securities law since President Donald Trump returned to office. This is according to a report that was published Sunday by The New York Times. The regulator paused investigations, dropped cases, or dismissed roughly 60% of enforcement actions involving crypto companies and projects since January, far outpacing the retreat seen in non-crypto matters.

The report pointed out several high-profile cases, including the SEC’s long-running lawsuits against Ripple Labs and Binance, and explained that the agency is no longer actively pursuing a single case against a firm with known ties to Trump. This fueled debate over whether political considerations are influencing enforcement decisions, particularly as the Trump family greatly expanded its presence in the digital asset sector in 2025.

The SEC rejected suggestions of political favoritism by telling The New York Times that its decisions to wind down crypto investigations were driven by legal and policy considerations rather than personal or political interests. The newspaper also reported that it found no evidence that Trump directly pressured the agency to drop any cases.

People in the industry also defended the SEC’s change in posture as a necessary correction rather than a politically motivated shift. Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital, argued that framing the pivot as a result of Trump’s personal interests was misleading. He said the rollback is part of a reassessment of what he described as an “insane” regulatory approach toward crypto over the previous four years, during which enforcement actions were often criticized as unclear, overly aggressive, or disconnected from established securities law.

At the same time, scrutiny intensified due to the Trump family’s growing involvement in digital assets. Entities linked to the president or his family have launched or backed several crypto-related ventures this year, including World Liberty Financial, the Official Trump meme coin, and American Bitcoin. While none of these ventures have been named in active SEC enforcement actions, their existence only added fuel to concerns about perceived conflicts of interest.

Caroline Crenshaw

The enforcement shift is also unfolding as the SEC prepares for a change in its leadership composition. The agency lost its final Democratic commissioner, Caroline Crenshaw, after she served more than a year beyond the expiration of her term in 2024.