Due to increased regulation of the cryptocurrency industry in the United States, two popular non-custodial wallets — Phoenix Wallet and Wasabi Wallet — announced their decision to stop serving American users and leave the US market.
The decision comes amid recent moves by U.S. regulators to make it clear that non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets may be considered remittance service providers. This approach was applied to Consensys, the company behind the popular Metamask wallet, as well as the developers of Samourai Wallet.
To avoid potential problems with regulators, the Phoenix Wallet and Wasabi Wallet teams decided to move their activities to other jurisdictions with a more favorable legal climate for cryptocurrency business.
The developers of Phoenix Wallet, ACINQ, emphasized in a statement that recent interpretations by US authorities suggest that even providers of self-custody wallets, Lightning Network interoperability programs and Lightning node operators may be considered financial services companies and should be regulated accordingly. way.
ACINQ also notified US users to withdraw their funds to other wallets and stop using Phoenix Wallet by May 2.
The decision by Phoenix Wallet and Wasabi Wallet to leave the US market comes amid increasing pressure from US regulators on the cryptocurrency industry. Authorities recently accused the creators of Samourai Wallet of money laundering, further highlighting the growing risks for cryptocurrency companies operating in the United States.
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