US Confirms Samourai Bitcoin Wasn’t Sold

Ben Graham · January 19

The US government confirms it did not sell the Bitcoin seized in the Samourai Wallet case. For those unfamiliar with the case, Samourai Wallet was a Bitcoin wallet that included a mixing tool called Whirlpool. This tool combined Bitcoin from multiple users to make individual transactions harder to trace, similar to mixing cash notes.

US authorities charged the developers, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, with running an unlicensed money transmitting business and helping with money laundering.

They said criminals used the mixing feature to hide illegal money. In 2024, the developers were arrested. In 2025, they pleaded guilty to related charges. Rodriguez received a five-year prison sentence, and Hill received four years. They began serving time in early 2026.

As part of the case, the government seized about 57.5 Bitcoin from the developers, worth roughly $6 million at the time of seizure.

I haven’t seen many Bitcoin or Ethereum people talk about this.

Samourai Wallet CEO Keonne Rodriguez was sentenced to five years in prison for operating a Bitcoin mixing service.

It’s worrying that this is still happening. Privacy is normal. pic.twitter.com/Bgp0Zh1EZD

— Fede’s intern (@fede_intern) November 7, 2025

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Samourai Bitcoin Case – The War On Mixers

Governments don’t like mixers, and in the past few years, they have increased regulatory actions, especially in the US, against crypto mixing services like those in Samourai Wallet, Tornado Cash, and others. Authorities view these tools as major risks for money laundering because they obscure the origin of funds on public blockchains. This makes it harder to trace illegal proceeds from activities such as drug trafficking, ransomware, darknet markets, or sanctions evasion.

They argue that while privacy has legitimate uses, mixers are frequently used by criminals, with data showing significant portions of mixed funds linked to illicit sources.

A senior White House advisor on digital assets stated that the coins remain on the government’s balance sheet.

These coins are now part of the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. An executive order from March 2025 established this reserve and prevents the sale of held Bitcoin. The US government holds a large amount of Bitcoin overall, mostly from past seizures in cases like Silk Road and other major investigations.

(Source: Coingecko)

This approach reduces the risk of sudden large sales that could affect market prices. For example, sales by other governments in the past have led to price drops, but the current policy keeps this supply off the market.

The Samourai case sits alongside tougher crypto justice policy and high‑profile Bitcoin seizures tied to crime.

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U.S. Holds Bitcoin, but Other Factors Trigger Today’s BTC Dip

(Source: TradingView)

Bitcoin experienced a decline amid escalating trade tensions between the US and Europe. The conflict stems from US demands related to Greenland, with President Trump announcing 10% tariffs on imports from several European countries (including Denmark, Germany, France, and others), set to start February 1 and potentially rise to 25% by June if no agreement is reached.

Europe has signaled possible counter-measures, including large-scale tariffs. This news increased market uncertainty, leading to risk-off sentiment across assets.

The drop came with higher trading volume and liquidations in leveraged positions. Key support sits near $90,000–$92,000, while resistance remains around $98,000–$100,000.

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