My Contrarian Take on the Recent Samurai Team Arrest

The arrest of the Samurai team should not be viewed as an attack on privacy. I urge you not to rely on any articles published by Coindesk, Forbes, or any other Bitcoin influencer or crypto expert who might be trying to spin their own narrative. Instead, please refer directly to this site: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/founders-and-ceo-cryptocurrency-mixing-service-arrested-and-charged-money-laundering

The crux of the article highlights, “While offering Samourai as a ‘privacy’ service, the defendants were aware that it was a safe haven for criminals to engage in large-scale money laundering and sanctions evasion. Indeed, as the defendants intended and clearly understood, a substantial portion of the funds processed by Samourai were criminal proceeds, funneled through Samourai for the purpose of concealment.”

Therefore, it is the responsibility of law enforcement to demonstrate that the team was aware of the criminal activities, including large scale money laundering, yet failed to report them. Failing to report known criminal activity is an offense, as illustrated by the case of Charlie Sherem, a prominent Bitcoiner and CEO of BitInstant, who was jailed for knowing about illicit activities and not taking action to report or prevent them.

The team did not simply create a piece of software and share it on GitHub, as Satoshi and the creators of other Bitcoin wallets like Electrum and Blue Wallet have done. Instead, they actively marketed it as a mixing service, earned millions of dollars in profit, and if these actions are proven by the prosecution, they rightfully deserve to face legal consequences.

It's noteworthy that personalities like Michael Saylor and Jack have refrained from commenting on this matter, a stance affirmed by a tweet from Samson Mow.

Equating this issue to an attack on “privacy” and suggesting that everyone becomes a money transmitter is misleading and obscures the real issue.

Furthermore, if you are manufacturing a USB cable that, when plugged into a Visa/Mastercard machine, obscures the user's identity and you advertise this cable as a mixing tool, then you can expect the SDNY to pursue legal action against you.

Stay calm, HODL