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Trezor, a cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer, announced today that it is discontinuing the CoinJoin feature in its Trezor Suite. The service provided in partnership with zkSNACKs, the developer of Wasabi Wallet, will end in June. Despite the termination of service, Trezor assures users that they will continue to have access to the funds within their Coinjoin account.
Trezor’s Coinjoin will end on June 1, 2024.
We take the privacy of our users very seriously and regret that we have to announce the discontinuation of the Coinjoin feature in Trezor Suite no later than June 1, as our partners are no longer offering this service.… https://t. co/KgyWIdtV6v
— Trezor (@Trezor) May 2, 2024
Coinjoin is a privacy tool for Bitcoin transactions that allows users to obscure the origin and destination of their funds. Trezor was the first hardware wallet to accept CoinJoin transactions. In April of last year, the CoinJoin function was integrated into Trezor Model T, and implementation was expanded to Trezor Model One at the end of August.
In a recent blog post, zkSNACKs stated that the decision to terminate CoinJoin’s mediation service was made with a “heavy heart” and a need for “legal clarity.” The company said Wasabi Wallet will continue to offer strong privacy features like client-side filtering and Tor integration, even without CoinJoin.
The move follows zkSNACKs’ decision to block US citizens and residents from accessing its services, including Wasabi Wallet, due to recent regulatory pressure. This ban also applies to related websites and services that already have IP address blocking in place.
Non-custodial cryptocurrency service provider faces legal showdown
Another cryptocurrency wallet provider, Phoenix, recently announced that it would be leaving the US market due to ongoing regulatory uncertainty. Users are encouraged to close the channel and transfer funds before access ends on May 5, 2024.
Acinq, the Bitcoin company behind Phoenix, said: “Recent announcements from US authorities have raised doubts about whether self-managed wallet providers, Lightning service providers, and even Lightning nodes can be considered currency service businesses and subject to regulation. “He explained his decision.
The exodus follows the SEC’s recent crackdown on non-custodial wallet provider Samourai Wallet and increased scrutiny of MetaMask. The SEC reportedly issued a Wells Notice to MetaMask’s parent company, Consensys. This notice serves as advance warning that the SEC is considering legal action.
In response, Consensys filed a lawsuit against the SEC and decided to tackle the regulatory issue head-on rather than wait for further action from the SEC. Previously, Uniswap Labs, the team that operates the decentralized exchange Uniswap, also received a wealth notice from a securities firm.
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