US Releases Russian Crypto Exchange BTC-e Founder in Prisoner Swap Deal

President Trump recently announced a prisoner exchange with Russia, trading BTC-e founder Alexander Vinnik for an American school teacher. Although Trump recently pardoned Ross Ulbricht, this deal does not look like a favor to the crypto community.

Specifically, Vinnik pled guilty to $14 million fraud in Russia and is likely to face further incarceration in his home country. Trump has helped soothe the pace of crypto crackdowns, but this policy has its limits.

Trump Trades Vinnik For Schoolteacher

Alexander Vinnik has been through a lot since his arrest in 2017. In 2011, he founded BTC-e, an early crypto exchange that was prominent in its heyday. The site was shut down over massive allegations of money laundering and other crimes, and he was arrested. According to the New York Post, however, President Trump is trading Vinnik back to Russia.

“We now know what Russia received in this deal. Accused Russian money launderer Alexander Vinnik is being released from US custody in exchange for Marc Fogel,” wrote CNN reporter Zachary Cohen.

Specifically, Trump is turning Vinnik over to Russian authorities in a prisoner swap deal. In exchange, American school teacher Marc Fogel was returned to the US.

Fogel attempted to enter Russia with 17 grams of marijuana in 2022, which resulted in a 14-year drug trafficking sentence. This became a cause célèbre in some circles but is irrelevant to crypto.

Vinnik’s life has featured constant legal battles between the BTC-e closure and Trump’s swap deal. After a 2017 arrest in Greece, he was extradited to face charges in France, and then again to the US in 2022.

On top of his initial money laundering charges, the US added new charges in 2024, and Vinnik subsequently pled guilty to them.

“We view this as a very fair deal. We are not trading the Merchant of Death for a basketball player. Vinnik is currently in custody in northern California, awaiting transportation back to Russia,” two White House officials claimed to the press.

On the surface, it may look like Trump is continuing a general campaign of crypto clemency with Vinnik. Last month, he pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht after over a decade in prison. This won great acclaim from the crypto community.

However, while Ulbricht faces a rough re-integration with a dramatically changed crypto space, Vinnik has far more serious concerns.

Specifically, the Russian government has requested Vinnik’s extradition since at least 2018. Apparently, he confessed to Russian law enforcement that he committed major cyber fraud at BTC-e, with damages amounting to approximately $14.6 million.

Vinnik may prefer conditions in his home country, but he doesn’t seem likely to become a free man any time soon.

In other words, Trump’s main interest was in securing Marc Fogel’s release, not correcting government overreach for Alexander Vinnik. Fogel has already returned to the US, visited the White House, and publicly thanked Trump for his intervention. Vinnik, by contrast, is still in custody awaiting transportation.

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