Trump weighs Samourai Wallet pardon amid SEC's crypto pullback and family's Bitcoin surge

Trump Weighs Pardon for Samourai Wallet Founder Amid Shifting Crypto Landscape

In a striking development that could reshape the narrative around cryptocurrency regulation and its perceived enemies, former President Donald Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for Keonne Rodrigues, a co-founder of the privacy-focused Samourai Wallet. This move comes at a pivotal moment, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to be easing its aggressive stance on the digital asset sector, while businesses linked to the Trump family are conspicuously expanding their Bitcoin holdings.

Rodrigues and his Samourai Wallet partner, William Lonergan Hill, were apprehended during the Biden administration, facing charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmission business. The Department of Justice alleged that Samourai Wallet facilitated illicit financial flows, with millions of dollars in criminal proceeds passing through its sophisticated crypto-mixing services. These mixers, designed to obscure the origin and destination of transactions, became a focal point for regulators concerned about illicit activity.

The court handed down a five-year prison sentence to Rodrigues and a four-year sentence to Hill. However, the prospect of a presidential pardon, especially from Trump, offers a dramatic twist. Rodrigues himself acknowledged that gaining Trump's attention was a significant hurdle, expressing gratitude for the potential intervention. His potential release comes just days before his scheduled transfer to the federal correctional institution FPC Morgantown, adding a layer of urgency to the situation.

A Thaw in Regulatory Action?

This potential clemency for Rodrigues unfolds against a backdrop of what appears to be a notable shift in the SEC's enforcement strategy. Investigations by The New York Times reveal a significant slowdown in the commission's actions against crypto firms. Since January 2025, the SEC has reportedly halted, dismissed, or rejected approximately 60% of its crypto-related cases. This represents an unusually high rate of case closures, particularly when compared to enforcement actions in other financial sectors, suggesting a strategic recalibration within the agency.

Prominent legal battles involving major players like Ripple Labs and Binance have also seen their pace decelerate or come to a standstill. While the SEC maintains these decisions are based on purely legal grounds, the timing of this reduced activity is unlikely to be lost on industry observers, especially given the current political climate and the perceived shift in regulatory appetite. This apparent easing of pressure could be interpreted as a signal that the era of stringent, broad-based crypto crackdowns may be waning.

Trump Family's Growing Crypto Footprint

Concurrently, the financial ecosystem is witnessing a surge in Bitcoin adoption and investment by entities with ties to the Trump family. Notably, American Bitcoin, a company championed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, has significantly bolstered its Bitcoin reserves, now holding an impressive 5,098 BTC. This substantial accumulation places the company among the top 20 largest corporate Bitcoin holders globally. American Bitcoin operates as a subsidiary of Hut 8, holding a controlling stake, and its public market entry was facilitated through a reverse merger with Gryphon Digital Mining.

Despite a recent dip in its stock price, falling over 75% from its peak and trading as low as $1.57 after its September Nasdaq listing, American Bitcoin's market valuation still reflects a premium. The company trades with a market-to-net-asset-value (mNAV) multiple of approximately 3.7, a metric that aligns it with other leading publicly traded Bitcoin miners in the U.S. This robust valuation, coupled with its growing Bitcoin reserves, underscores the family's deepening involvement in the digital asset space.

The convergence of these events—a potential pardon for a high-profile crypto figure, a noticeable retrenchment by the SEC, and the aggressive expansion of Bitcoin-centric businesses linked to a former president's family—paints a complex and evolving picture of cryptocurrency's place in the American financial and political landscape. It suggests a potential pivot, one that might favor greater integration and perhaps less adversarial oversight for the burgeoning digital asset industry.