The founders of Bitcoin mixer Samourai Wallet, William Lonergan Hill and Keonne Rodriguez, are set to change their not guilty pleas to guilty in a New York court. They are accused by the U.S. Department of Justice of operating the app as an unlicensed money transmitting business that facilitated large-scale money laundering and evasion of sanctions by criminals. The app was designed to obscure Bitcoin transactions, making it attractive for users seeking privacy. The case has garnered attention from privacy advocacy groups, who argue that the founders only created the software and did not control how it was used for transactions. This legal development comes amidst ongoing legal proceedings against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, another case involving alleged violations of financial regulations in the cryptocurrency space. The broader implications of this case raise concerns within the crypto community regarding privacy rights and the legality of privacy-focused tools.

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