Key Takeaways
- William Hill, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, was sentenced to four years in prison for his involvement in money laundering.
- Samourai Wallet offered Bitcoin mixing services to enhance transaction privacy, obscuring the origins of funds.
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William Hill, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, a Bitcoin mixing service, received a four-year prison sentence today for operating a money-transmitting business that knowingly handled more than $237 million in criminal proceeds.
The sentence follows his guilty plea in connection with allegations that Samourai Wallet facilitated money laundering by concealing illicit funds through its mixing tools.
Prosecutors said Hill and co-founder Keonne Rodriguez promoted the platform to criminal users on darknet forums and acknowledged internally that its mixing process functioned as “money laundering for Bitcoin.” Rodriguez was sentenced to five years in prison.
Hill’s sentencing represents part of the ongoing US government prosecution of crypto developers who create privacy-focused tools. The case has intensified debate over crypto privacy services, with advocates arguing such tools protect user anonymity while critics contend they facilitate illicit activities.
The guilty plea by Hill and other Samourai Wallet developers signals increased enforcement against unlicensed crypto services that mix Bitcoin transactions, potentially setting a legal precedent for future cases involving privacy-focused crypto tools.