The Samurai Wallet Conviction is a Betrayal of Justice and Free Speech

Block 922933

The conviction of the Samurai Wallet developers for "money laundering" isn’t just harsh, it’s a blatant miscarriage of justice that sets a dangerous precedent.

The 'Crime'

These developers created an open-source Bitcoin mixing tool, designed to enhance user privacy by allowing individuals to anonymize their transactions without handing over control of their funds. Crucially, they never held anyone’s bitcoin. Unlike centralized services that custody assets, Samurai Wallet was non-custodial, meaning users ran the software themselves and retained full control of their coins.

Yet, prosecutors framed it as enabling crime, pinning money laundering on code alone. Make no mistake, this isn’t about catching criminals; it’s about punishing privacy as a principle. Ever since the Patriot Act, politicians have tasted surveillance, and now their addiction won't stop until their surveillance is complete. Remember just a few years ago when these drunken politicians wanted a reporting of every $600 we spend?

The Samurai Wallet devs, like most people, believe financial privacy is a right, not a privilege. So, they created a tool that obscures transaction trails in Bitcoin, a tool for financial sovereignty, not for illicit gains. For this, these devs were sentenced to 5 years behind bars.

Then there’s the glaring hypocrisy. Compare the Samurai case to corporate giants like JP Morgan. In 2020, they paid a staggering $2.9 billion fine for manipulating precious metals markets - a scheme that enriched a few while ripping off everyday investors. And let’s not forget their role in facilitating funds for cartels, as exposed in earlier settlements. The penalty? A fine, paid from profit margins, with no jail time for executives. And just last year, they settled another case (this time a mere $2.5 billion) for enabling Russian sanctions evasion. The repeat-offenders at JP Morgan consistently land free with golden parachutes while open-source devs building tools to empower individuals land in prison. The disparity wreaks of selective justice. Bankers who flood politicians with money get fines; coders who protect the People from surveillance get shackles.

The 1st Amendment

To make matters worse, conviction of the Samurai devs is a blatant violation of their 1st Amendment right to free speech. Remember, the devs never had access to users' money, so they couldn't have laundered it. They only wrote code. To criminalize that is to say the government can jail you for writing any app that conflicts with its agenda, whether it’s crypto mixers or encryption tools.

Computer code is speech, a point affirmed by the Supreme Court in Bernstein v. United States. In that ruling, computer code was recognized as expressive conduct, protected under the same rights as a journalist’s article or a poet’s verse. So, if code is speech, then the State just threw dissent into a cell. The chilling effect is real: every open-source dev now wonders if their next commit could land them in prison.

Where will it Stop?

Clearly, this is not about fighting crime, it's about fighting privacy. Privacy tech disrupts centralized finance, and that’s why the government wants it crushed. This case isn’t just about three developers; it’s about whether innovation can exist without a leash. President Trump says he wants the United States to be the crypto capitol of the world. Jailing innovators is not how you get there.

If writing code can land you in jail, then freedom is truly on life support. We’re left with a choice: defend the right to code without fear or jettison the 1st Amendment completely and start jailing journalists, protestors, and posters of 'offensive' Facebook posts.

The Samurai Wallet verdict is a miscarriage of justice and a violation of our rights. What’s next? Arrests for VPNs or encrypted chats?