This is a *major* win for DOJ, and a huge huge loss for legislative efforts trying to protect developers from unlicensed money transmission charges.
Full article in quoted post.
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Discussion
😭😭
If you work on Bitcoin privacy tools and you're not from the US, you should seriously consider never ever visiting. I'm worried about the toxic territory continuing to expand quickly though...
Unfortunately, doesn’t matter where we are. These despicable scum of human will do anything to keep their grip on power
As much as I hate this system, Clarity Act needs to be signed into law asap.
Pleading guilty under significant government pressure and overreach is not the same as setting a precedent. The Tornado Cash verdict expected this week is much more important.
Department of Justice? More like Department of Just Ass (rulings)
Fuck. Where do we go from here? This is a huge blow.
We'll need to be more like Satoshi from now on i guess..
I was curious why this won't set precent for future cases, so if anyone else is wondering, here's what I found:
Here's why that often means it won't create binding precedent:
Guilty Pleas Skip the Trial Process: When defendants plead guilty (as Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill did here), they're essentially admitting to the charges without contesting them in court. There's no need for a trial where lawyers argue over evidence, legal interpretations, or the application of laws like the Bank Secrecy Act (which regulates money transmission). Without that adversarial process, the judge doesn't issue a substantive opinion that could interpret the law in a new way.
No Detailed Judicial Opinion: In a plea deal, the court's role is mostly to accept the plea, ensure it's voluntary, and impose a sentence. There's rarely a written ruling that analyzes the law deeply enough to serve as precedent. For example, this case doesn't create a "landmark decision" on whether cryptocurrency mixing services (like Samourai's Whirlpool) qualify as money transmission under federal law—it's more of a resolution based on the specific facts and agreement.
Lack of Appeals: Precedent often solidifies through appeals, where higher courts review and affirm (or overturn) lower court decisions. A guilty plea typically waives the right to appeal on most grounds, so there's no opportunity for appellate courts to weigh in and create broader case law.
Plea Deals Are Fact-Specific: These agreements are negotiated between prosecutors and defendants, often to avoid the risks of trial. They're tailored to the individuals involved (e.g., the developers' roles in operating the wallet) and don't necessarily address bigger questions, like the legality of privacy-focused crypto tools in general. Future cases could still argue different interpretations without being bound by this outcome.
Broader Context in Crypto Cases
This isn't uncommon in cryptocurrency-related prosecutions. Similar cases, like those involving Tornado Cash or other mixing services, have sometimes gone to trial and set more precedent (e.g., by clarifying what counts as "money transmission"). However, when defendants plead guilty—often to get lighter sentences or avoid harsher charges—it limits the case's impact on the legal landscape. The article might be highlighting this to temper expectations that the pleas will "change the game" for crypto privacy tools.
So. This is the stage where they fight us on all fronts.
Act accordingly. Ramp up your opsec. Get rid of centralised infrastructure. AV might be a blessing in disguise. Get rid of your old compromised accounts.
Going dark. Regathering in anonymity.
Keep writing ✍️ the good fight 🗡️