The White House has officially confirmed that nearly $6.4 million worth of Bitcoin seized from the creators of the privacy tool Samourai Wallet has not been liquidated and will instead be added to a national Bitcoin reserve. This announcement, made on Friday by Patrick Witt, executive director of President Trump's Digital Assets Council, resolves weeks of uncertainty and marks a significant shift in U.S. government policy regarding seized digital assets.
The clarification came after concerns were raised last month by attorneys and family members of the incarcerated Samourai developers, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill. They alleged that Department of Justice attorneys in New York intended to liquidate the funds, which would have contradicted the spirit of President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order establishing a federal Bitcoin reserve using seized holdings.
Legal documents had fueled the confusion. A signed asset liquidation agreement between federal prosecutors and the developers, reviewed by Decrypt, included language authorizing the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to "receive the Bitcoin Account and immediately liquidate it" and deposit the funds into the Assets Forfeiture Fund. However, Witt stated that the DOJ confirmed to him the digital assets "have not been liquidated and will not be liquidated" and will remain on the U.S. government balance sheet as part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), per Executive Order 14233.
The case involves the founders of Samourai Wallet, a tool that allowed Bitcoin users to make private transactions. Both Rodriguez and Hill pleaded guilty last year to operating an unlicensed money transmitter. The case, initiated under the Biden administration, was continued by the Trump DOJ, which secured a five-year prison sentence for Rodriguez and a four-year sentence for Hill in November. Both men began serving their sentences earlier this month.
The saga has caused friction among crypto advocates regarding President Trump's pro-crypto stance. Last month, when asked by Decrypt if he would consider pardoning the developers, Trump said he would "look at" the request and directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate. However, no pardons have been issued, and prediction markets place the odds of a pardon before February at just 7.5%.
This policy shift represents a major departure from previous government handling of seized crypto, such as the public auctions of Silk Road Bitcoin or the gradual market sales of Bitfinex hack funds. Experts note the new SBR framework suggests a long-term custodial strategy that could stabilize markets by preventing sudden large sell-offs and establishes a formal record for state-owned digital assets.
Despite the White House announcement, Lauren Emily Rodriguez, wife of Keonne Rodriguez, expressed skepticism to Decrypt, stating, "After seeing all the lies and manipulations done by the AUSAs in the Samourai case, I wouldn't put anything past them."
