Wallet of Satoshi, one of the biggest Bitcoin Lighting Wallet providers in the world, has removed access to its app in the United States.
Coverage:
Crypto users in the US will now not be able to access the app from the Google and Apple app stores. The company has released a statement saying that from now on, they “will not serve” customers in the United States.
Wallet of Satoshi Did Not Specify Reasons for Their Decision
The Wallet of Satoshi team however, did not give any reason that may have caused them to take this drastic action. They, however, expressed their regret that this new development will be disappointing to their US clients.
In a quick rejoinder, Wallet of Satoshi also assured their existing users in the US that their funds in the Bitcoin Lighting app will remain accessible. The money can be withdrawn and moved to another wallet provider.
There have been speculations amongst users that the US government may have banned Wallet of Satoshi, especially considering the recent legal action that led to the downfall of Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao.
However, the wallet services refuted these claims, insisting that this decision was not a result of the recent developments in the US crypto market.
In their statement, Wallet of Satoshi said that they remain optimistic that they could one day resume business in the US. “We are hopeful that future developments will allow us to revisit and possibly resume our operations in the United States,” they said in their statement.
Wallet of Satoshi is Pretty Popular and Has Near Record Transactions
The wallet is one of the most used Bitcoin Lightning wallets. It was predicted that it would break the ceiling by recording more than one million payments in November.
However, the app has had its share of criticism. One of the criticisms leveled against it is the custodial aspects of the crypto app. The app has full control over the funds of its users. This is in direct contrast to non-custodial applications that leave the owners of Bitcoin to have full access and control.
Wallet of Satoshi has quit the US market just as the Lightning Network has been showing signs of rising back to all-time highs both on Bitcoin and the US dollar metrics.
In the last two months, the US dollar capacity has risen 67%, reaching $207 million. Over the same period, Bitcoin capacity has risen 20% to hit 5,530 BTC.
