Half the time correct, half the time incorrect because I can’t be bothered to check the orientation when putting it on. 2 seconds added to my free time is a win.
I don’t think it’s going to get better until the US collapses internally. But at that point Texas will be as good as El Salvador.
My Contrarian Take on the Recent Samurai Team Arrest
The arrest of the Samurai team should not be viewed as an attack on privacy. I urge you not to rely on any articles published by Coindesk, Forbes, or any other Bitcoin influencer or crypto expert who might be trying to spin their own narrative. Instead, please refer directly to this site: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/founders-and-ceo-cryptocurrency-mixing-service-arrested-and-charged-money-laundering
The crux of the article highlights, “While offering Samourai as a ‘privacy’ service, the defendants were aware that it was a safe haven for criminals to engage in large-scale money laundering and sanctions evasion. Indeed, as the defendants intended and clearly understood, a substantial portion of the funds processed by Samourai were criminal proceeds, funneled through Samourai for the purpose of concealment.”
Therefore, it is the responsibility of law enforcement to demonstrate that the team was aware of the criminal activities, including large scale money laundering, yet failed to report them. Failing to report known criminal activity is an offense, as illustrated by the case of Charlie Sherem, a prominent Bitcoiner and CEO of BitInstant, who was jailed for knowing about illicit activities and not taking action to report or prevent them.
The team did not simply create a piece of software and share it on GitHub, as Satoshi and the creators of other Bitcoin wallets like Electrum and Blue Wallet have done. Instead, they actively marketed it as a mixing service, earned millions of dollars in profit, and if these actions are proven by the prosecution, they rightfully deserve to face legal consequences.
It's noteworthy that personalities like Michael Saylor and Jack have refrained from commenting on this matter, a stance affirmed by a tweet from Samson Mow.
Equating this issue to an attack on “privacy” and suggesting that everyone becomes a money transmitter is misleading and obscures the real issue.
Furthermore, if you are manufacturing a USB cable that, when plugged into a Visa/Mastercard machine, obscures the user's identity and you advertise this cable as a mixing tool, then you can expect the SDNY to pursue legal action against you.
Stay calm, HODL
It is an attack on privacy. They’re almost certainly going after the Join Market makers eventually, arguing that they also provided mixing services for criminals without doing KYC.
Hey, nostr:npub1klkk3vrzme455yh9rl2jshq7rc8dpegj3ndf82c3ks2sk40dxt7qulx3vt is this issue still something that might be added?
https://github.com/zkSNACKs/zIPs/issues/16
nostr:note19fumcydk79kryjyj5dml8v78js2f6xwczcwukunvppscp7sg82hqjv02wk
I don’t think attempting to block Americans from accessing Wasabi Wallet is going to make the FBI look away. They have their tendrils in many other countries, especially the European vassals of the US in the EU. 🤷♂️
They will simply find the semantics that let them ban what they want to ban.
Probably would mean you’re doing the right thing.
Let it sink in that if you live in the US today you are in a country where you have to use a vpn or tor to access certain products and services. “Land of the Free”
Add Confidential Transactions to Bitcoin.
“Using Wasabi Wallet”. Will US users of Wasabi be able to withdraw their BTC? nostr:npub1klkk3vrzme455yh9rl2jshq7rc8dpegj3ndf82c3ks2sk40dxt7qulx3vt
nostr:note1m4zegxr6yrzrqfm2z648fu5tfx82nfesypalk3jv0zmkgff9akzqrmv3ct
It’s been used successfully as a form of mixer for Bitcoin, I.e. swap to Monero, then swap back. I suspect this use case will drastically increase in popularity now.
If it takes that little to get it on the list then everyone should be on it.
Does coinjoining in the app still work? Weird that it wouldn’t if it was supposedly using tor.
Any evidence of them actually doing it? I remember looking for code in their GitHub repository for their coordinator but couldn’t find anything related to filtering for sanctioned UTXOs. Doesn’t mean they aren’t actually running different code on their end though.
Does the coordinator have the info to de-mix?
A lot of coinjoin demand will probably move to Wasabi. How long will they (the coordinator) stay in operation?
Does Bolt12 fix?
It simply comes down to will. If people mostly don’t have the will to use Bitcoin without submitting to the restrictive KYC and censorship laws that INEVITABLY will come, Bitcoin doesn’t have a future. No will, no way.
nostr:note1aqq203tzetrvyha3l4qudu8d0tzt7ml3wrcv86czfjwgnm0ctzlstdmukj
Interpretation of the law seems to be in flux. It was always obvious that they would eventually crack down on self-sovereign money/store-of-value. That doesn’t make it smart comply and, for example, run a LN node that censors transactions associated with OFAC sanctioned UTXOs. Fuck compliance.