Phoenix Wallet, a Bitcoin wallet developed by the Bitcoin technology company ACINQ, has declared that it would stop serving users in the United States. The wallet operator stated in a recent post on X that it will take Phoenix Wallet out of the United States app stores on May 3.
The wallet service gave users in the United States instructions on how to empty their wallets after making the statement. Users were also cautioned by the wallet operator not to "force close" their wallets under any circumstances. They claim that doing so might result in hefty on-chain fees.
There are hints that ACINQ made the decision for Phoenix Wallet to leave the United States. In a different article, ACINQ explained that the most recent decision was made due to regulatory issues in the United States. Authorities in the United States categorized service providers in the same category as Phoenix Wallet as Money Services Businesses, according to the crypto wallet provider, noting that this classification might impact how they would be regulated.
The U.S. regulatory bodies' recent pronouncement, which raised questions about the classification of self-custodial wallet providers, Lightning service providers, and even Lightning nodes, prompted ACINQ to make its conclusion. Users were informed by the wallet provider that it will proceed with evaluating additional possible effects of the decision to withdraw from the United States on its operations.
The creators of Samourai, a Bitcoin mixing wallet, were recently indicted by a court in the Southern District of New York on charges of aiding unlawful transactions, including money laundering. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) alerted users to the event by stating that it has started "operations" on a number of unregistered cryptocurrency businesses.
April 2024, Cryptoniteuae