Samourai Speech
INTRODUCTION
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m here to ask for your help…
Not for myself…
But on behalf of two men who can’t be here today
Two Bitcoin developers that have had their freedom cruelly ripped away for a crime they COULDN’T have committed.
I’m here today to ask you to help support William Hill and Keonne Rodriguez – the Samourai Devs
My hope is that by the time I’ve finished telling you this story, you’ll be as pissed off as I am about this grave injustice.
And that’s because, at the end of this talk, I’m going to share with you with a crazy idea we’ve had to help raise some donations for them,
But it can only work if you join in…
THE ARRESTS
So… I want you to picture the scene…
It's five o'clock in the morning, April 24th, 2024. And inside a small two-bedroom cottage in rural Pennsylvania, a man and his wife are sound asleep.
It’s a peaceful setting. But this is no ordinary place…
According to the US government, this cottage is the headquarters of a two-billion-dollar criminal enterprise.
Lights start shining through the bedroom windows, and outside, voices can be heard in the dark.
Then comes the command: “Come out with your hands raised!”
Keonne, barefoot and in shorts, and his wife Lauren, in a dressing gown and slippers, hearts pounding, step slowly outside.
As they do… Red dots settle on their chests…
Multiple rifles… trained on a barefoot software developer and a woman in her dressing gown.
It wasn’t just a couple of police offers that arrived that morning. It was the FBI, the IRS, 40 agents in full tactical gear, an armoured vehicle. Even a drone that was flown through the front door of this small family home.
Keonne was taken away in the back of a waiting vehicle
And Lauren, left standing in the street in handcuffs and her robe, had only one thought:
“They must have the wrong house…”
But they had the right house. They had exactly the man they came for. A man with no criminal record. No history of violence. A man whose government had never contacted him before — no letter, no subpoena, nothing.
The first time the United States ever spoke to Keonne Rodriguez, it did so through the scope of a rifle.
That same morning, in Portugal, the authorities also raided the home of his co-founder, William Hill, and locked him away in a Portuguese prison cell for months awaiting an extradition he wasn’t even trying to fight.
A peaceful man, ripped away from his family home and locked away in a cell for months for crimes he couldn’t have committed and had not been found guilty of yet.
So… the rifles, the prison cell in Lisbon, the armoured truck… All of it…
For what?
Terrorism? Violent Crime? Murder?
No…
For writing software…
Or to be specific… for writing privacy software.
THE SAMOURAI DEVS
So what were Samourai building that offended our overlords to this extent?
Well, back in 2015 the whole industry was racing to make Bitcoin more ‘friendly’, more ‘compliant’, and more ‘custodial’.
KYC and AML rules, yield platforms, and Bitcoin backed loans being pushed by defunct middlemen desperately trying to remain relevant in the face of a technology that promises to render them obsolete.
But Bill and Keonne were having none of it. They were true cypherpunks. They believed in the promise this whole thing was founded on.
Money that answers to no-one. Money that sets you free.
Samourai wallet was non-custodial by default. Your keys, your coins and nobody in-between. In ten years the Samourai devs never touched a single Satoshi that belonged to anyone else.
And on that foundation, they went on to build the boldest privacy tools ever seen in a Bitcoin wallet.
They invented Ricochet, a tool that makes your transactions harder to follow by bouncing them through a series of your own empty addresses
They introduced Stonewall, a transaction method that makes it harder for Chainalysis to link your UTXOs.
And it didn’t stop there.
They integrated Tor, introduced Paynyms, and were one of the first wallets to implement Payjoins.
Bill and Keonne were innovators and privacy maximalists. They built a Bitcoin wallet so feature rich your current wallet would be embarrassed to be compared to it.
But it wasn’t these features that got them into trouble…
The reason the government showed up at their door with a small army was because of their flagship service.
Samourai’s Whirlpool…
Whirlpool was a Bitcoin mixer. It allowed multiple users to combine their coins in equal amounts and mix them together in a single transaction. The result… is that anyone trying to follow the money loses track of which UTXOs belong to which user.
Nothing is ever hidden from the network. Nothing is ever stolen. And no coins ever move without their owner's signature…
And notice what Samourai does in this picture…
Nothing.
Users voluntarily mix coins with each other. Samourai’s software simply allows them to co-ordinate. Not one Satoshi ever passed through Bill or Keonne’s hands, and they had no control over who could or couldn’t use the software. As a non-custodial wallet they were under no obligation to perform KYC.
The only thing the Samourai devs are guilty of is creating a tool that allows anyone to protect their financial privacy.
And Privacy is NOT a crime.
THE CHARGES
Samourai operated in the open for more than ten years without so much as a strongly worded letter from the authorities.
But on April 24th, 2024, The Southern District of New York – a district where these men had never lived or worked, charged them with conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to run an unlicensed money transmission business.
The maximum penalty?
25 years in prison.
So let’s take a look at these charges…
First, conspiracy to launder money…
The obvious question, is how on earth could Bill and Keonne conspire with their users to launder money, when they had no way of identifying or communicating with them?
And how on earth do you launder money that you never touch, and have absolutely zero control over?
You don’t have to be Satoshi to recognise this is total nonsense.
And the Second charge is just as spurious…
Conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business…
Now the law on this one is crystal clear….
America's own regulator FinCEN — had already published the rules in black and white:
If software never holds a user’s funds, it cannot be considered a money transmission business.
Which makes sense. Because how can you transmit money that you never touch?
Non-custodial, means no license required.
Samourai had zero control over user’s funds.
By the Government’s own rules, they were NOT money transmitters.
Clearly, both charges levied at the Samourai developers are total bullshit.
So… how did the State manage to convince two innocent men to confess to a crime they objectively could not have committed?
Well… the State doesn’t play fair…
Let me take you through the case…
THE CASE
The Samourai devs and their defence team felt they had a strong case.
There was no credible way for them to have conspired with their users, and Fincen’s own rules stated that they could NOT be considered a money transmission business.
Surely this was just a big misunderstanding.
The defence were optimistic that it would all be resolved quite quickly.
Unfortunately, that optimism would soon turn to despair.
Because as time went on, they would discover that this wasn’t going to be a fair trial.
This was a witch hunt.
The first warning sign was the 17 terabytes of supposed evidence the prosecution dumped on the defence. Enough paperwork that if it were printed out, would stretch to the moon and back 22 times!
Fighting a case like this is already punishingly expensive! Tactics like this, are designed to increase that pressure.
The state’s resources will never run out. But yours will…
The second warning sign came when one of Samourai’s defence lawyers thought to ask the prosecution if they had ever communicated with FinCEN.
And it turned out they had. In fact, 6 months before they rolled up at Keonne’s house with rifles and drones, they had asked FinCEN directly…. “Is Samourai a money transmission business?”
And the regulator’s response?
No. Because they don’t take custody.
So… the regulator told them no laws had been broken. But they indicted them anyway.
Now, not only did the prosecution ignore FinCEN’s guidance. But they even went so far as to hide the fact that this conversation ever took place.
Withholding evidence of innocence like this has a name in American Law. It’s called a Brady violation, and is a clear demonstration that the prosecution in this case were willing to play VERY dirty.
Nevertheless, and despite this skullduggery. The Samourai devs still felt confident. They had FinCEN’s rules on their side, they had the technical evidence on their side, and ultimately… They had the truth on their side…
They continued to plead ‘not guilty’ and based on the evidence, and the Brady violation, filed a motion to dismiss…
Unfortunately… The final nail in the coffin was still to come.
Just days before the hearing where they could present their evidence, the judge presiding over the case recused himself.
No reason was given.
His replacement?
Judge Cote. The former chief of the criminal division of the Southern District of New York.
Or… in more simple terms…. The former boss of the same people who were prosecuting Bill and Keonne.
You don’t have to be a tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy theorist to raise an eyebrow at that…
After the appointment of Judge Cote, there was no illusion that the Samourai devs had found themselves at the mercy of a Kangaroo court.
The hearing where Samourai were meant to present their motion to dismiss lasted only 5 minutes. Judge Cote arrived, sat down and announced:
“Good morning. I’m denying everything. Goodbye”
No explanation and no opportunity for Samourai to present their evidence.
The Samourai devs never stood a chance. Judges in cases like this play a huge role. They decide which witnesses can be called, what evidence can be presented to a jury, and even the words you are allowed to say in front of them.
Samourai would never get the chance to present their defence properly.
So… back to our question…
How do you coerce innocent men to plead guilty to a crime they couldn’t possibly commit?
Simple…
You threaten to prosecute them with an even more serious crime that they also didn’t commit.
By this point, everything was in place, the deck was stacked and the prosecution was ready to strike.
They presented the Samourai devs with a deal…
Plead guilty to unlicensed money transmission, a charge that carries a 5-year sentence, and we will drop the charges for money laundering, that could put you behind bars for a further 20.
They were given just 24 hours to agree.
Now ask yourself… What would you have done?
Would you fight on knowing you can’t present your defence?
Would you fight on, knowing it will bankrupt your family?
Would you fight on, knowing that prosecutors win 90% of their cases?
Or would you accept the deal?
A 25-year sentence was the most likely outcome if the case went to trial. For Bill, a man in his mid-sixties, this is tantamount to a life sentence.
They chose to plead guilty…
The same way a man chooses to hand over his wallet at knife point.
At sentencing, Judge Cote delivered the maximum sentence. Five years for Keonne and four years for Bill.
As we speak, they sit trapped in a federal prison…
While their families sit at home without them.
THE FIGHT
Now I’m sure you’ve heard this saying before…
First, they ignore you,
Then they laugh at you,
Then they fight you,
Then you win.
Well, for those who haven’t been paying attention, we are well and truly in the ‘then they fight you’ stage.
And the reality we have to accept… is that victory is not guaranteed.
Every day the state continues to erode our right to privacy. Facial recognition, Flock cameras, constant KYC data breaches, and even home appliances that listen to us in our own homes.
The state is steadily building a digital prison around us, and unless we fight back, they will succeed.
They are already succeeding. The persecution of the Samourai developers was designed to send a message. A reminder to fall in line, a show of force to scare developers away from building privacy tools, and a direct attack on anyone seeking financial sovereignty.
This is not just Samourai’s fight. This fight belongs to us all.
If we won’t stand up to defend two Bitcoin developers that were brave enough to build the tools we so sorely need, then we’ve already lost.
If this is the stage where they fight us.
That means it’s time to stand up and fight.
SUPPORT THE SAMOURAI DEVS
So… how can we help support Bill and Keonne?
Well, first it’s important to understand that when you plead guilty in America, you give up your right to appeal.
So for Bill and Keonne, there are only two ways out of that prison.
1. Serve every single day of their sentence,
or
2. Receive a Presidential pardon.
And presidential pardons run on only one fuel... Attention.
So the first and easiest way you can help is by signing their petition on change.org…
https://www.change.org/p/stand-up-for-freedom-pardon-the-innocent-coders-jailed-for-building-privacy-tools
So far, we have reached just over 17,000 signatures. But that’s nowhere near enough.
The change.org petition for Ross Ulbricht amassed over 600,000 signatures, enough to turn an obscure case into a cause with enough political weight to get President Trump to adopt it and ultimately pardon him.
We can help do the same for Bill and Keonne.
Trump is already aware of the case and has said he is looking into a pardon. If we all sign the petition, we can significantly increase the chances of that happening.
So… if you haven’t already…
Please, sign the petition and show your support.
Second, if you’re in a position to do so, please consider donating to the Samourai defence fund.
The DOJ confiscated 6.3 million dollars’ worth of Samourai’s Bitcoin and hit them with a $250,000 fine each. And that’s on top of more than 2 million dollars’ worth of legal debt they racked up trying to defend themselves.
Even when they are finally released, this crushing financial burden will still weigh heavy on them and their families.
We can help alleviate that.
By making a donation, you can make that mountain of debt a little easier to climb and give them a better foundation for rebuilding their lives.
Donate in dollars: https://www.givesendgo.com/billandkeonne
Donate in Bitcoin: https://pay.zaprite.com/pl_JpxtkLv95T
So… There’s a petition to sign… and you can donate some money…
But truth be told… I’m a little bit disappointed with the results so far…
In over 2 years since the arrests, we’ve only managed 17,000 signatures on the petition, and only $217,000 in donations…. when the target is 2.5 million.
And I’ve got to be honest…
I’m stood here today wondering what the fuck happened to all the so-called Bitcoin cyber hornets? Where did all the honey badgers go?
Are we still trying to separate money and state? Or did paper Bitcoin summer mean everyone handed over their testicles as well as their keys?
Based on the results, we came to the conclusion that tweets and podcasts will only get us so far…
If we are going to pump these numbers, we need to try something a little bit more ambitious.
Something a little more cypherpunk…
So… today… we’re launching the Samourai Prize draw…
A provably fair, NON-KYC Bitcoin lottery where half of the jackpot will go to the Samourai defence fund, and the other half will go to one lucky winner!
Now, as if that was exciting enough, we also decided to make things interesting by starting the prize pot at 2 million sats, which means if you do play, you have the chance at becoming a Satoshi millionaire!!
One entry is only $5, and if you buy multiple entries, you’ll get an even better deal.
Not to mention, it will be the coolest fucking thing you did all week.
To enter, all you have to do is head to… www.freesamourai.now
Once you’re there, just give us an on-chain Bitcoin address where you’d like to receive your winnings, and purchase your entries via the lightning network.
Simple.
When entries are closed, we will then use the hash of the next Bitcoin block to select our winner and publish all the results on our website so you can verify the draw was fair.
You can find all the details about how it works on the website.
So… a provably fair Bitcoin lottery…
Will this mad scheme work and raise loads of money for Bill and Keonne?
I have no idea…
But I do have this crazy dream… that maybe, just maybe, you’ll be inspired to buy a ticket, or that you might even buy 10, or 21 tickets.
And I would also absolutely love it if you could help us spread the word.
If you find me on X, we’ve made some cool videos to promote the draw, and it would be incredible if you could help share them far and wide.
You see I’ve got this mad vision in my head where we manage to rally the whole Bitcoin community around this, and for a whole week my entire feed becomes nothing but #FREESAMOURAI memes and videos.
How fucking cool would that be?
Regardless of how much we raise, it would be amazing to get everyone talking about this case again.
So… please… join us, and let’s have some fun playing with our Bitcoin.
Fuck Paper Bitcoin Summer
It’s Free Samourai Season!
Thank you…
