Wallet of Satoshi, a leading Bitcoin Lightning wallet, has confirmed that it will be ending its services in the United States amid the recent regulatory takedown of multiple digital asset businesses in the region. The application has disappeared from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store after recording over 1 million transactions in November.
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As per the official post by Wallet of Satoshi on social media platform X on November 24, the developers stated they have made “the difficult decision to remove our app from the U.S. Apple and Google app stores and will not serve U.S. customers going forward.”
Wallet of Satoshi: Users Will Have Full Access to Funds
However, the users based in the region will have full access to their Bitcoin at all times, which they can withdraw as and when they feel like it. The platform has not announced a deadline for the withdrawal.
“This decision doesn’t come lightly. Our commitment to providing a secure, user-friendly, and compliant platform globally is unwavering. Our top priority is the safety and interests of our customers and our company,” said the platform, while adding that it will resume operations in the United States if “future developments” allow it.
The Bitcoin community on X shared their disappointment on the matter, with a user comparing the US to a third-world country when it comes to owning Bitcoin.
Compliance Issues
Additionally, John Carvalho, the CEO of Bitcoin software developer Synonym, confirmed in a response to the post that Wallet of Satoshi is suspending operations to comply with “local regulations.” Carvalho added:
“In the end, you can’t really run a business without being in a jurisdiction, and you can’t really operate internationally without variable legal requirements.”
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Carvalho also pointed out that not complying with laws only works when a Bitcoin business is small, but once the platform achieves a certain amount of success, things change and regulations matter. He believes that most investors do not understand the importance of regulatory compliance because “they are used to so many bitcoin/crypto companies operating illegally.”
It is important to note that Wall of Satoshi recently recorded more than 1 million Lightning transactions in November, making it the platform’s biggest month of Lightning payments ever.
Recently, the popular decentralized wallet MetaMask was also removed from the Apple App Store, but the incident was resolved by the development team in a short period of time. A spokesperson confirmed that the issue was not from the application’s end, hinting that Apple’s policies might have resulted in the sudden disappearance.
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