- Wasabi Wallet creator zkSNACKs imposes an indefinite ban on U.S.
- users.zkSNACKs cited regulatory concerns but offered no specifics on the matter.
- The move follows recent arrests of founders of similar services by U.S. authorities.
zkSNACKs, the company responsible for the privacy-centric Bitcoin wallet Wasabi Wallet, has declared an indefinite ban on users from the United States accessing its product. The zkSNACKs team communicated this development in an official statement dated April 27 on its website.
As per the recent notification, zkSNACKs has implemented an immediate and indefinite block on U.S. citizens and residents from accessing its websites. The ban extends to downloading and utilizing Wasabi Wallet and any associated products and services, including APIs and RPC interfaces.
However, zkSNACKs provided no specific details influencing its new decision against U.S. entities. The report only stated that the decision was “in light of recent announcements by U.S. authorities.”
Accordingly, zkSNACKs has implemented IP address blocking against U.S. entities on wasabiwallet.io, api.wasabiwallet.io, and zksnacks.com. The notification emphasized that individuals identified as U.S. citizens or residents include permanent residents and U.S. passport holders. These entities cannot visit the above sites, download Wasabi Wallet, or utilize its “coinjoin” feature.
While zkSNACKs’ announcement lacked specificity, a probable catalyst for the policy alteration could be the recent arrest of the two founders of Samourai Wallet earlier last week.
Samourai Wallet is a Bitcoin wallet that shares similarities with Wasabi Wallet’s privacy-enhancing features. However, this wallet has faced allegations from U.S. officials who characterize its features as facilitating money laundering.
Furthermore, the apprehension of Samourai Wallet’s founders is part of a broader trend of U.S. authorities clamping down on privacy-based crypto services. For instance, the founders of Tornado Cash, a protocol designed to anonymize blockchain transactions, are facing a lawsuit with the U.S. on grounds for money laundering charges.
Essentially, these developments likely influenced zkSNACKs’ decision to implement stricter measures preventing U.S. entities from accessing its services.
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