The company behind Bitcoin privacy wallet Wasabi has blocked U.S.-based users from accessing its products citing recent announcements from U.S. authorities.
An IP address blocker is in place to bar U.S.-based users from accessing Wasabi Wallet webpages.
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Posted April 29, 2024 at 2:33 am EST.
As U.S. regulators turn their attention to self custodial , some of these service providers have opted to exit the market.
zkSNACKs, the company behind the open-source privacy-focused Wasabi Wallet, said it would be immediately barring U.S. citizens and residents from accessing its products and services, and visiting its website.
The zkSNACKs coordinator is now blocking U.S. residents and citizens from using its coinjoin service.
— Wasabi Wallet (@wasabiwallet) April 27, 2024
“In light of recent announcements by U.S. authorities, zkSNACKs is now strictly prohibiting U.S. users from using its services,” the zkSNACKs team said in a Saturday announcement.
An IP address blocker is in place on all of its websites to ensure that no U.S. users can access Wasabi Wallet’s webpages.
However, the efficacy of an IP blocker remains to be seen, particularly given the fact that that Wasabi Wallet can be set up on Tor – a decentralized network that routes internet traffic through a series of volunteer-operated servers, providing anonymity.
ACIQ, the developers of another bitcoin wallet Phoenix, also said they would be removing their product from U.S. app stores citing “recent announcements from US authorities,” and advised users to empty the funds in their wallets.
Recent announcements from US authorities cast a doubt on whether self-custodial wallet providers, Lightning service providers, or even Lightning nodes could be considered Money Services Businesses and be regulated as such.
— ACINQ (@acinq_co) April 26, 2024
These moves from wallet providers appear to be a cautionary measure after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted the founders of bitcoin privacy wallet Samourai Wallet last week.
Prosecutors alleged that Samourai founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill facilitated more than $100 million in money laundering transactions from illegal dark web markets through operating their coin mixing service, and together collected around $4.5 million in fees. Each of them face one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, tied to a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the DOJ has challenged Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit against him in an opposition that some industry watchers have criticized for being misleading in its language.
4/ Page 60 👇 Tell me you don’t understand how immutable smart contract protocols work without telling me… pic.twitter.com/4i7LvMO9WY
— Amanda Tuminelli (@amandatums) April 27, 2024
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