Overview
- The White House confirmed that $6.4 million in confiscated Samourai Bitcoin will not be sold and will be incorporated into a federal Bitcoin reserve.
- Documents indicated that the DOJ had plans to sell the funds, contradicting a presidential executive order.
- The developers of Samourai are still incarcerated; despite indications from Trump regarding potential pardons, none have been granted.
Federal law enforcement seized Bitcoin valued at approximately $6.4 million from the developers of Samourai Wallet, which has now been confirmed by a White House official to not be sold. Instead, these assets will be added to a national reserve.
This statement follows concerns raised by the developers’ family and legal representatives about the DOJ’s potential intentions to liquidate the funds, a move that would go against a federal Bitcoin reserve established by President Trump through executive order last March.
A liquidation agreement between the developers, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, and federal prosecutors suggested a possible liquidation of the seized Bitcoin, with provisions discussing the U.S. Marshals Service’s role in this process.
However, on Friday, Patrick Witt from Trump’s Digital Assets Council announced that the DOJ had confirmed that the funds have not been liquidated and will remain part of the federal government’s strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Both Rodriguez and Hill pleaded guilty last year to a felony for running an unlicensed money transmitting business through Samourai, which enabled users to conduct private Bitcoin transactions. They were sentenced to five and four years in prison, respectively.
Despite a request for potential pardons from Trump, Rodriguez and Hill began serving their sentences, and doubts remain regarding the transparency of actions taken by prosecutors concerning the seized Bitcoin funds, as expressed by Rodriguez’s spouse.
