Wasabi Wallet developers will stop supporting the CoinJoin mixer on June 1

Previously, the wallet had already blocked access for users from the United States

03.05.2024 - 14:07

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3 min

What’s new? zkSNACKs, the company behind the development of the privacy-focused bitcoin wallet Wasabi Wallet, will stop supporting the Coinjoin service for anonymizing crypto transactions from June 1. The measures were taken against the backdrop of increased pressure on such services in the United States. A few days earlier, zkSNACKs had already blocked access to the wallet for US users, citing “recent announcements by US authorities.”

Material by The Block

What else is known? In late April, the US authorities arrested and charged the founders of Samourai Wallet with mixing functions Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, in the conspiracy to launder funds, both face 25 years in prison. Samourai’s servers were also seized. The DOJ alleges that the service generated commission income for the founders for a decade from transactions by hackers and sellers on darknet marketplaces.

Rodriguez, who was arrested in the US, has not pleaded guilty. Hill was detained in Portugal and is awaiting an extradition decision.

US Justice Department declines to drop charges against the founder of the Tornado Cash crypto mixer

Officials insist on a jury trial

The Coinjoin service, like other cryptocurrency mixers, allows anonymizing bitcoin transactions by mixing assets, hiding their origin and final sending address.

Earlier, a jury in the United States found the founder of crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog, Roman Sterlingov, guilty of money laundering. 1,2 million bitcoins passed through the service over ten years, most of which came from hackers and traders on darknet marketplaces. Sterling faces up to 50 years in prison.

Coinbase criticizes the US Treasury Department’s accounting requirements for cryptocurrency mixing transactions

According to the exchange, the new measures of the agency create additional unnecessary work

In late April, the FBI urged citizens not to use crypto services that do not have an MSB license and identification system. The bureau specified that the funds could be confiscated by the authorities due to the connection with criminal activity. The US Treasury Department called crypto mixers a threat to national security as early as last October.

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