Wasabi Wallet Blocks U.S. Citizens from Accessing Services
In a surprising move, Wasabi Wallet developer zkSNACKs has announced that it will be blocking U.S. citizens from accessing its services.
As per a recent post on the Wasabi Wallet website, the ban will apply to all U.S. citizens and residents, including those with permanent residency or a U.S. passport, with immediate effect.
This means that U.S. citizens will no longer be able to visit websites such as wasabiwallet.io, api.wasabiwallet.io, and zksnacks.com.
zkSNACKs has made it clear that U.S. citizens and residents will be blocked from accessing its websites and using services like the Wasabi Wallet and related APIs and RPC interfaces.
“U.S.” refers to “United States” and includes the several states of the United States and related territories. If you are a United States citizen or United States resident, you are not allowed to visit any of the sites aforementioned, download Wasabi Wallet, or use the Wasabi Wallet coin-join feature. This includes whether you are a U.S. permanent resident or if you are an individual who holds a U.S. passport.
zkSNACKs, Wasabi Wallet developer
The decision to block U.S. citizens comes in light of recent announcements by U.S. authorities, leading zkSNACKs to join other crypto platforms in adjusting their services due to increased regulatory scrutiny from the U.S.
For example, Phoenix Wallet recently announced its cessation of operations for U.S. residents starting May 3, prompting the removal of its app from U.S. app stores. ACINQ, the company behind Phoenix Wallet, advised U.S. users to withdraw funds promptly but cautioned against force-closing wallets to avoid higher fees.
Following a similar path, ACINQ cited concerns raised by recent U.S. government statements regarding potential regulation of self-custodial wallets, Lightning service providers, and Lightning nodes for its decision to pull Phoenix Wallet from U.S. app stores.
Additionally, federal prosecutors in New York recently indicted the founders of Samourai Wallet, accusing them of illegal transactions exceeding $2 billion. This crackdown on crypto wallets and mixers involved in questionable activities has sparked controversy within the crypto community, with some advocating for privacy rights in line with Bitcoin’s principles.