Chilling Effects of Recent US AML Prosecutions

on YouTube ↗28m

" summary

Four criminal cases (Sterlingov — up to 50 years for alleged Bitcoin Fog ties, Tornado Cash, Samourai/Whirlpool, local peer‑to‑peer settlements) shape practical risk: prosecutors use conspiracy as God mode to stretch acts (domain purchase, forum posts) into ongoing crimes, push venue extraterritorially, and argue noncustodial tools can still be money transmission despite 2019 FinCEN guidance. Filings show subpoenas for logs and compelled biometrics, a 57‑month sentence example, and prosecutors tracing intermediate hops rather than clear custody. assume DOJ wins and design to avoid coordinated custody or operational control.

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" chapters (18)

1. 0:00Intro
2. 1:09Lawyer disclaimer
3. 2:16"And Then They Fight You" Stage
4. 3:26Four criminal cases privacy builders should study
5. 4:42Zones of Legal Uncertainty
6. 7:20Current status
7. 10:05U.S. v. Sterlingov
8. 14:45US v. Storm & Semenov (Tornado Cash)
9. 17:01US v Keonne Rodriguez (Samourai Wallet)
10. 19:30US v Raol Rodriguez
11. 20:12Criminal filings are Anonymity Op Sec teachers
12. 20:50Don't be smug about other privacy dev defendants
13. 21:00Star Wars metaphor: Acts of rebellion
14. 22:13Building Neutral Layer 1 platform vs Dapps & Dexes
15. 23:06"Rogue Prosecutor" ZCG and Legal Advice
16. 24:09Build as Rebel Alliance HQ & let Saw Gererra emerge
17. 25:30What can we do to anticipate that US legislation are usually used as "models" and take a global approach to avoid these legal actions to be taken as examples by other countries and their governments?
18. 27:30Closing

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