Keonne Rodriguez says he and 70 others face another move after their treatment program was deactivated. His previous transfer took 30 days. Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez faces another prison transfer after the drug treatment program at FCI McKean was deactivated, he said Wednesday. Rodriguez said on X that McKean’s warden told program participants that Rodriguez and 70 others would be moved to facilities where treatment remains available. He entered the program because completing it could reduce his sentence by up to a year. In a letter published by The Rage, Rodriguez called his earlier journey from FPC Morgantown to McKean the “absolute worst 30 days” of his life. He said his request to make the roughly four-hour trip himself was denied. Read more
Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez said mounting legal debt and fading pardon hopes could force him to serve his full prison sentence. Keonne Rodriguez, one of the developers behind the crypto-mixing protocol Samourai Wallet, is appealing to the crypto community for donations to help cover legal bills and fines tied to his trial over money laundering. Samourai Wallet co-founders Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill were sentenced on Nov. 19 to five and four years in prison, respectively, on charges stemming from their involvement in the protocol. Rodriguez said in an X post on Wednesday that he desperately needs help after being “financially wiped out,” accruing $2 million in debt from legal fees and a $250,000 fine imposed by the sentencing judge. Read more
A prison letter from Keonne Rodriguez has reignited debate over crypto privacy tools, developer liability and executive clemency. Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Bitcoin privacy tool Samourai Wallet, spent Christmas Eve documenting his first day inside a US federal prison, offering a personal account as a crypto developer now serving a five-year sentence. In a letter shared by The Rage, he described the experience of surrendering himself to the prison camp. The account detailed the intake process, which included searches, medical clearances and the transition into prison housing. Rodriguez also described the emotional weight of leaving his family days before Christmas. Read more