TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast #692: Free Samourai with Keonne Rodriguez
10 snips
Dec 10, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet and a passionate Bitcoin privacy advocate, shares his decade-long pursuit of financial privacy. He delves into his recent legal troubles with the DOJ, explaining the implications of charges against him and the importance of self-custody. Keonne advocates for a presidential pardon and discusses the broader issues of privacy in the cryptocurrency space. The conversation highlights Bitcoin's potential as a tool for freedom versus its risks of becoming a surveillance mechanism.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Privacy Through Application Design
- Keonne Rodriguez founded Samourai to restore transactional privacy because protocol-level changes were unlikely.
- He built a non-custodial wallet at the application layer to give users privacy without forking Bitcoin.
Financial Privacy Is Speech And Safety
- Financial privacy protects free speech and personal safety, especially under authoritarian regimes.
- Public blockchains expose net worth and create security risks like robbery and extortion.
Regulatory Hostility Threatens Builders
- The DOJ views financial privacy tools with open hostility and equates developer intent with facilitating crime.
- This stance threatens builders and could shift enforcement pressure to miners and infrastructure.