Yaël
Yaël
npub15dnl...3lfc
deputy director @ consumer choice center
fellow @ bitcoin policy institute
québécois-american innocent abroad in Wien
i "sold" sold btc today by exchanging it for a haircut. I mean it looks nice
my small meshtastic has now picked up 190 nodes
all via LoRa!
The Samourai Wallet developers created a tool improving privacy for bitcoin on-chain use, similar to cash. Users held control of their own funds.
Prosecutors ignored FinCEN guidance and concocted an unreasonable legal theory of liability to charge them both with breaking money transmission laws despite the tool never taking custody of the funds.
Facing millions in legal costs, 25 years in prison, an overzealous and unfair prosecution, and a Judge with no patience for understanding the broader legal and technical arguments, the developers were essentially forced to plead to lesser charges of "conspiracy" for the sake of their families.
Now, both developers have one month before they are to turn themselves in for 4+ years of incarceration, all for creating a piece of open-source code that allowed people to do want they wanted with their own money.
This prosecution is an unwarranted and unjust process of law that will be looked back on in shame. Every legal tool or resource should be dispensed in order to free them and reverse the dangerous precedent this sets for privacy and financial sovereignty.
Privacy is not a crime, and open-source developers who empower users are not criminals.
Many wealthy and powerful people today use bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to safeguard their wealth and benefit from a real-time settlement network without intermediaries. Every consumer benefits from better tech tools that allow them to take control of their money and spend how they wish.
If people of influence understand and appreciate the broader ethos of the Bitcoin and crypto revolution, rather than trading and getting rich off fees from their shitcoins, they should advocate for both the pardon of these two individuals and for legal safeguards in federal law to ensure this never happens again.
It is not just two these people's lives at stake, but it's the future of how Americans will interact and benefit from technology going forward.
#freesamourai
now that it has self-custody, are people using Wallet of Satoshi more?
welcome to the revolution Linus
Yes
The premise of broad civil liability protection for platforms is a core principle that should be applied to producers across America’s innovative stack, whether oil and gas firms fending off dubious climate cases or AI firms building the tools that are the key to America’s present economic dominance.
my article in RealClearPolitics on Section 230's fate:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2025/10/28/republicans_are_walking_into_a_trap_on_section_230_repeal_153457.html
The most insane bitcoin heist story I've ever read, executed at the behest of the Republic of Georgia's kleptocratic master.
This isn't a $5 wrench attack. It's a global kidnapping, torture, and complete weaponization of the state.
Holy shiite
