The arrest of the developers behind Samourai Wallet, a platform offering noncustodial cryptocurrency services, has sparked widespread concern and debate over privacy rights and government overreach in the tech industry. The U.S. Department of Justice has charged the team with operating as an unregistered money service business under 31 C.F.R. 1010.100(ff)(5), citing the wallet's features like Whirlpool and Ricochet, which are designed to enhance user privacy by obfuscating transaction details. Critics argue that these charges are an attack on the fundamental right to privacy and free speech, comparing the case to previous controversies involving Tornado Cash and the Ross Ulbricht trial. The crypto community, including the Bitcoin Ordinals community and advocates for the freedom to transact, has rallied around Samourai Wallet, questioning the DOJ's interpretation of the law and its implications for future privacy technologies. Additionally, a fundraising initiative using PRIVACY•IS•A•RIGHT runes has been launched to support the defense.
We all know the news about @SamouraiWallet and @SamouraiDev, but what is next? For my latest at @Forbes I asked this to @zackbshapiro from @btcpolicyorg Privacy matters. https://t.co/BjJkFUN3i2
On Tornado, Samourai, and laws against self hosted wallets, etc - all part of the same theme. States desperately want “control” over money almost as much as they want seignorage rights. “Control” means that a judge can order the assets seized/transferred, which requires some…
So, the Samourai wallet guys have been arrested for developing privacy tech but the folks who rugged $33m earlier this week are still living the high life?!
#samouriWallet thoughts: many critical allegations required to establish that whirlpool or richochet were money service businesses - i.e. who had control and intiated transactions of BTC- are glossed over or not alleged with specificity. The mere existence of a centralized/1
There's lot to process (legally speaking) on mixers lately. The latest is the Samourai Wallet action: But an imporatnt subtext that stands out to me, at least: "defendants knew it was a haven for criminals" (So let's start with table-setting. First-principles). This feels… https://t.co/qihVLWaxTP
Today's arrest of the Samourai developers signals a grim reality for the future of privacy. Like @rstormsf & @alex_pertsev, developers are at risk of facing charges for crimes they did not commit. This is why we need your help to defend the right to privacy and to publish code. https://t.co/74WodFV6TR
Are Runes a freedom fundraising tool? The Samourai Wallet founders' arrest today seems like a good opportunity for the community to try it out. I've etched and reserved 10% of PRIVACY•IS•A•RIGHT, which I'll send as soon as a donation wallet for the Samourai Wallet defense… https://t.co/ogmkzk74xB
We always knew the State would use the full force of the law to battle crypto privacy. Transparent Bitcoin is not the threat. Crypto transactions that they can not track and trace is what they fear. That is why it is essential for privacy/fungibility to be baked-in to the base… https://t.co/DYS1bb8RbV
How can @SamouraiWallet be a "money transmitter" if it merely provides noncustodial software that never accepts or transmits currency? See 31 C.F.R. 1010.100(ff)(5). This could be a more egregious injustice than the Ross Ulbricht case. @TorEkelandPLLC https://t.co/KUxiUqefAi
Samourai offered noncustodial tools + code that empowered users to collaborate in a trust minimized way. The charging + arrest of the Samourai team raise important questions about the DOJ’s broader aims, and whether our freedom to transact is intact https://t.co/9XX5H4vFXG https://t.co/Go5dPkfejf
Crypto is transparent Cash is not transparent Code is speech and should be protected as such First Tornado cash, now Samurai wallet It will not stop here You should be alarmed https://t.co/b9PpRXWULE
What's being done to @SamouraiWallet is profane https://t.co/69tXPynk6i
The only reason crypto has been allowed to exist in the United States is because it is completely transparent and the government can track everything. Any attempt to bring any sort of meaningful privacy to crypto will be met with an amount of force you cannot imagine. https://t.co/bevHQRisjg
This is an overreach of government against our civil liberties We need everyone in the Bitcoin Ordinals community to help fight against this Free @SamouraiWallet https://t.co/Ge5gfHlnnO
Samourai Wallet indicted. This government overreach is so much worse than Tornado. https://t.co/VQcXHptDFn