Wasabi Wallet, a popular Bitcoin wallet known for its privacy solutions, has announced that it will no longer allow U.S. citizens and residents to use its services. This decision comes amidst a crackdown by U.S. regulatory authorities on Bitcoin wallets.
According to the announcement by zkSNACKs, the provider of Wasabi Wallet, U.S. citizens and residents are now blocked from accessing the Wasabi Wallet website, downloading the wallet, and using any related products and services, including APIs and RPC interfaces. This prohibition applies to individuals with a United States passport or IP address.
The decision to block U.S. users was made in response to recent announcements by U.S. authorities. The announcement states that United States refers to the several states of the country and its territories. Even U.S. citizens or residents, including permanent residents and individuals with a U.S. passport, are not allowed to visit the mentioned websites or use the coinjoin feature of Wasabi Wallet.
This move by Wasabi Wallet follows similar actions in the industry. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) recently seized the website of Samourai Wallet, another privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet, and arrested its developers. The FBI also issued a warning against cryptocurrency money transmitter businesses. These developments, along with court decisions related to Tornado Cash, have created uncertainty around the regulatory status of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency wallets.
As a result, ACINQ, a Lightning Network service provider and developer of Phoenix Wallet, announced its departure from the United States. Wasabi Wallet made its decision to block U.S. users soon after. These recent law enforcement actions have raised regulatory concerns for Bitcoin wallet and privacy service providers in the U.S., leading some companies to either leave the country or restrict access to their services for U.S. citizens and residents. This could potentially impact the long-term demand for Bitcoin in the U.S.
