zkSNACKs, the developer of Wasabi Wallet, an open-source Bitcoin wallet that “binds” transactions to enhance privacy, has blocked US users from accessing Wasabi Wallet and other services indefinitely.
According to a company announcement, users in the United States and related territories are now prohibited from “visiting the website, downloading and using Wasabi Wallet and all related products and services, including API and RPC interfaces,” through IP address firewalls. It pointed to “recent announcements from U.S. authorities” as justification.
zkSNACKs’ announcement was vague, but one reason for the policy change was the arrest of two of Samourai Wallet’s founders earlier this week. Samourai Wallet is a Bitcoin wallet that similarly includes privacy features that officials say enable money laundering.
The arrest of the Samurai founders follows the arrest of the co-founders of Tornado Cash, a hybrid protocol for the Ethereum blockchain. Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors have argued that criminals’ use of hybrid services to knowingly profit is enough to bring money laundering charges, and industry advocacy groups have proposed a defense to protect the free speech rights of open source developers. presented.
zkSNACKs could not immediately be reached for comment.
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