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The "What is Money?" Show

The War on Privacy, Bitcoin, and Personal Freedom w/ Keonne Rodriguez

The "What is Money?" Show

Robert Breedlove

Money, History, Cryptocurrency, Finance, Investing, Breedlove, Bitcoin, Rabbit Hole, Robert Breedlove, What Is Money, Education

4.8 β€’ 724 Ratings

πŸ—“οΈ 30 January 2026

⏱️ 84 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this conversation, Keonne Rodriguez joins the show to explain how financial privacy in the United States has been quietly criminalized β€” not through new laws, but through aggressive enforcement, novel legal theories, and the expansion of state power beyond its original mandates. Keonne recounts the FBI raid on his home, the prosecution of Samourai Wallet, and how non-custodial software developers were charged as if they were financial institutions. They explore the erosion of due process, the weaponization of conspiracy charges, and how intent is now being inferred from speech rather than actions. This episode examines the broader implications for Bitcoin, open-source developers, and personal freedom. It raises a deeper question: if writing privacy-preserving code can be treated as a crime, what does that mean for speech, innovation, and individual sovereignty in the digital age? This is not speculation or ideology β€” it is a firsthand account of how the war on privacy is already underway.

Transcript

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0:00.0

My dog woke me up. He started barking. My dog doesn't usually bark.

0:04.0

So I immediately woke up and I walked to the window of my bedroom and I'm kind of bleary-eyed,

0:10.0

little blurry, and still halfway asleep trying to figure out what's going on.

0:13.0

And I see a bright light appears to be coming upwards towards my eye level.

0:19.0

So I'm trying to figure it out and then suddenly red and blue lights start flashing all up and down the street,

0:24.6

50 or so cars, armored vehicle, like something you would see in Afghanistan.

0:29.6

The light that I originally saw that's coming up to my window is the end of some sort of crane that's attached to the armored vehicle.

0:36.6

With a camera attached to it to look into the window into the bedroom.

0:40.3

It sees me, I see it. That's why the lights start going on. And then almost immediately on the megaphone, the voice rang out.

0:48.3

Keone Rodriguez, this is the FBI. Come outside with your hands on your head immediately.

0:57.2

They kept saying it every two seconds, every three seconds.

0:59.8

So I woke my wife up or she had already woken up.

1:02.6

And I was like, hey, you know, it's going down.

1:05.1

Get dressed and we've got to go outside.

1:05.8

So we did.

1:07.0

She opened the door first.

1:08.1

She walked out.

1:12.7

They instructed me to come out with my hands behind my head and walk backwards. And as I'm walking backwards to the sound of the agent's voice, I'm looking at my wife.

1:17.9

And there's five laser shots on center of mass on her chest.

1:21.7

M.

1:22.7

M.

1:23.7

M. Hmm. All right, Keone Rodriguez.

...

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