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November 4, 2025Bitcoinist logoBitcoinist

Feds Demand Five Years for Samourai Wallet Founders: Best Wallet Remains Private

Quick Facts: 1⃣ Prosecutors want the full five-year prison sentence for Samourai Wallet’s founders after they pleaded guilty to an illegal money-transmitting charge. 2⃣ A key piece of evidence is an internal message where a founder called their mixing feature ‘money laundering for Bitcoin.’ 3⃣ Best Wallet remains a private and secure multi-chain wallet for all your crypto ￰1￱ ready for a tense week in the world of crypto ￰2￱ co-founders of the privacy-focused Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodrigues and William Lonergan Hill, are due in court for sentencing, and US prosecutors are demanding the maximum five years in prison for both ￰3￱ government isn’t pulling any punches, painting Rodriguez and Hill as anything but simple software ￰4￱ a new filing , prosecutors argue that the pair were basically running a digital ‘money laundering for Bitcoin’ service, actively encouraging criminals to use the platform to hide their dirty money.

They’re definitely not buying the defense’s claim that they were just bystanders. Here’s a breakdown: The Crime: The duo pleaded guilty back in July to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting ￰5￱ was strategic, as it let them avoid three more serious charges, including money laundering, which carries a 20-year ￰6￱ Stakes: They face up to five years on the charge they admitted ￰7￱ say that over $237M in criminal cash, from drug cartels, darknet markets like Silk Road, and even sanctioned entities, flowed through Samourai’s mixing ￰8￱ Evidence: The government’s smoking gun? Internal messages in which one of the founders allegedly referred to the mixing feature as ‘money laundering for Bitcoin’ and even promoted the tool on dark web forums as a way to ‘clean dirty Bitcoin.’ While the court’s probation office suggested a shorter 42-month sentence, the prosecutors are determined to make a statement by getting the full five-year ￰9￱ case is seen as a huge test for the crypto community, raising major alarms for developers and privacy advocates who worry that simply creating tools for financial anonymity could now be seen as a crime.

It’s a high-profile showdown that’s putting the entire concept of crypto privacy under intense ￰10￱ legal crackdown on crypto mixers like Samourai Wallet underscores a fundamental tension in the industry: the clash between financial anonymity and regulatory ￰11￱ the spotlight shifts away from privacy-focused tools targeted by law enforcement, the market is increasingly looking toward all-in-one, multi-chain wallets that offer robust features alongside transparent, audited ￰12￱ player standing out is Best ￰13￱ Wallet: The New Guard of Secure Crypto Management Unlike the old-guard, which often focused on singular aspects like deep anonymity (as Samourai did), Best Wallet is positioning itself as the gold standard for secure, non-custodial, multi-chain asset management.

It’s an all-in-one platform that’s racked up a huge user base by offering features that go far beyond simple storage, making it a powerful and secure alternative in the wake of all these regulatory ￰14￱ truly sets Best Wallet apart is its next-level security and commitment to making crypto accessible without sacrificing ￰15￱ ditches the biggest point of failure for most users, the easily lost or phished seed phrase, by using Fireblocks’ secure multi-party computation ￰16￱ kind of military-grade security, combined with features like biometric login and advanced anti-fraud checks, gives you real peace of ￰17￱ the functionality side, the wallet is a hub for everything: you can manage, swap, and trade assets across six blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and ￰18￱ the team has plans to expand this to over 60 blockchains.

Plus, its integrated DEX aggregator automatically scouts hundreds of exchanges to guarantee you get the best price and lowest fees on every single ￰19￱ Wallet is built for the modern crypto user who needs speed, security, and smart trading all in one place. It’s no surprise it’s at the number one spot on our list of the best crypto wallets . $BEST: The Fuel Behind Best Wallet The entire Best Wallet ecosystem is fueled by its native asset, Best Wallet Token ($BEST) , which is designed to be much more than just a typical crypto ￰20￱ token is built on utility and access, and it’s why the ongoing presale has already raised a massive amount – close to $17M.

Holding $BEST essentially means a VIP pass to the entire ￰21￱ most direct benefit is a significant reduction in transaction fees for swaps and trades made within the wallet. It’s one of the main reasons our experts see $BEST potentially reaching $0.072 by the end of ￰22￱ the real game-changer is the exclusive early access to the Upcoming Tokens ￰23￱ allows you to get in on the top high-potential crypto presales through a vetted, secure channel, eliminating the risk of falling for scam ￰24￱ the team continues to build out its roadmap, the utility will grow, with plans to integrate $BEST with a future crypto debit card for reduced spending fees, enhanced staking rewards, and full governance rights over the ￰25￱ is running out, though, if you want to join the presale and secure your $BEST at its current early-bird price of $0.025895, with 78% staking ￰26￱ Best Wallet team has announced that the presale will end on November 28 – so the clock is ￰27￱ the Best Wallet Token ($BEST) before it’s too late.

Remember, this is not intended as financial advice, and you should always do your own research before making any ￰28￱ by Ben Wallis, Bitcoinist – ￰0￱

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