Re: a most excellent interview..
By: Ogg to All on Mon Dec 22 2025 11:57:00
Privacy is at stake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fshsk8MCAf4
i asked Gemini to give my a summary of the youtube video.
Mindsurfer
Summary: He Built a Privacy Tool. Now He Going to Prison.
The video features an interview between Naomi Brockwell and Keonne Rodriguez, the co-founder of Samourai Wallet, shortly before he had to report to prison. Samourai Wallet was a non-custodial, open-source Bitcoin wallet designed to provide users with financial privacy on a public ledger.
Key Points of the Video:
The Mission of Samourai Wallet: Keonne explains that Bitcoin is pseudonymous, not anonymous. Every transaction is public, which can lead to "wrench attacks" (physical targeting of users) and total surveillance. Samourai Wallet was built to give users control over their financial history through collaborative transactions (CoinJoin) without ever taking custody of user funds.
The Arrest: In April 2024, Keonne home was raided by dozens of armed FBI agents. He was arrested in front of his wife and neighbors, despite having no criminal record and only developing open-source software.
The Charges: He was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Keonne points out the irony: even the financial regulator FinCEN had previously stated that non-custodial software providers are not money transmitters because they don't hold the funds.
The "War on Privacy": The interview highlights a broader trend where governments target developers of privacy tools (like Tornado Cash or Samourai Wallet) to create a "chilling effect." The goal is to discourage anyone from building tools that make surveillance difficult.
The Plea Deal: Facing a potential 25-year sentence and a $237 million "money judgment" that would have left him in debt for life, Keonne and his co-defendant Bill felt forced to take a plea deal for 5 years in prison to limit the "downside risk," especially after a hostile judge denied their motions without explanation.
A Call to Action: Despite going to prison, Keonne remains hopeful. He mentions that others have already taken the open-source code to keep the technology alive. He encourages "small acts of resistance"sing privacy tools daily to maintain the "normality of privacy."
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