zkSNACKs blocks U.S. users from Wasabi Wallet and other services

Quick Take

zkSNACKs, the company behind the privacy-boosting Bitcoin wallet Wasabi Wallet, announced today that users from the United States will be barred from using its products indefinitely.
The decision was likely prompted by the arrest of Samourai Wallet’s founders earlier this week.

zkSNACKs, the developer behind the Wasabi Wallet, an open-source Bitcoin wallet which "conjoins" transactions in order to boost privacy, blocked users from the United States from accessing Wasabi Wallet and other services indefinitely.

Users from the U.S. and related territories are now barred, through means of an IP address firewall, from "visiting its websites, downloading and using Wasabi Wallet and any related products and services, including APIs and RPC interfaces," according to the company's announcement, which pointed at "recent announcements by U.S. authorities" for justification.

Though zkSNACKs' announcement was vague, one likely reason for the change in policy was the arrest earlier this week of the two founders of Samourai Wallet, a Bitcoin wallet that similarly included privacy-preserving features that officials characterize as enabling money laundering.

The arrest of Samourai's founders also follows the arrest of Tornado Cash's co-founders, a mixing protocol on the Ethereum blockchain. DOJ prosecutors have argued that knowingly profiting from the use of a mixing service by criminals is enough for a money laundering charge, while industry advocacy groups have put forward defenses meant to protect the free-speech rights of open-source developers.

"In light of the recent announcements from U.S. authorities, uncertainty lies on whether self-custodial wallets such as Wasabi Wallet could be considered money transmitters. Although we believe that Wasabi Wallet is complying with current legislations and regulations, zkSNACKs is taking a conservative approach and decided to not be exposed to the regulatory uncertainty of the U.S.," said a spokesperson for zkSNACKs.

Updated 4/28 with zkSNACks comment.

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