The entire Tornado Cash verdict is completely insane and will turn the legality of building any privacy service on its head.🧵
1.Open-source devs building non-custodial tools can be held responsible for criminal activity when crim. actors cannot be stopped or deanonymized👇
There are 43 unique words from the BIP39 wordlist in the FBI's PSA on money service businesses.
That should make 7,347,251,430,341,222,400 Bitcoin wallets.
Hope they have a license for them.
Today I learned that
@CoinDesk
retracted my opinion article on
@chainalysis
The article detailed an expert testimony given by Chainalysis head of investigations Elizabeth Bisbee, in which she admitted to having no scientific evidence of the software's accuracy.
Coindesk did
Unpopular opinion, but here it goes: UX is the most important problem we need to solve for Bitcoin Privacy.
We can hate on KYC exchanges all we want, but they've got UX nailed down. We cannot expect privacy to become the norm when I have to take an hour out of my day to make a
Hot take: I don’t care whether you‘re pro-vax, anti-vax, left, right, blue, red, green, or purple. I care about your right to protest. Because if you don’t have it, I won’t either.
Arresting software developers for building software is absurd. The good news for Tornado Cash – and by extension Samourai Wallet - is that not even the judge seems convinced on the US Government's argumentation.
The Judge seemed to implicitly understand the autonomous and
Scoop: Judge grants delay of Tornado Cash trial
Showing a keen grasp of the key issues, Judge Failla asked whether the charges were comparable to criminally charging the creators of WhatsApp because criminals used it. By
@davidzmorris
Chainalysis attempts to evade source code audit by denouncing Bitcoin Core contributor as "unqualified", cites risk of "irreparable damage" to its business
My latest for
@BitcoinMagazine
Good morning, its been over 3 weeks since the Samourai Wallet indictment and there still seems to be no sign of
@SamouraiDev
in the justice system. I don't like it, so I sent the Feds some questions.
Good morning. Today is a good day. The US Government has agreed to release TDev on bail, according to a letter filed on July 3rd.
TDev's defense makes incredibly smart arguments, stating that the US Government's prosecution is as "aggressive as it is expansive, akin to charging
The US Government has agreed to release Samourai Wallet co-founder William Hill on bail. Hill is set to appear before SDNY on July 9th or 10th. His extradition is uncontested.
Full article:
Chainalysis' head of investigations doesn't seem to have a great understanding of whether her company's flagship software even works.
Thank you
@BitcoinMagazine
🧡
The Bitcoin Doesn’t Move: how the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act violates ten national and international laws & regulations (some constitutional, and probably many more). My latest for
@BitcoinMagazine
New info on
@SamouraiDev
, or rather more non-info. Portugese Metropolitan Police responded to have no info (this was to be expected).
But here's where it get's interesting. I just called the Policia Judiciaria, and their stonewalling is insane. After identifying myself as a
Good morning, its been over 3 weeks since the Samourai Wallet indictment and there still seems to be no sign of
@SamouraiDev
in the justice system. I don't like it, so I sent the Feds some questions.
Lots of media reports equating coinjoins to mixers. Dangerous, and could play right into the DoJ's arms. Coinjoins and Mixers are fundamentally different technologies.
"But coinjoins are a type of mixer" – No. There is no mixing going on in coinjoins. Literally zero. nada.
Today I learned that
@CoinDesk
retracted my opinion article on
@chainalysis
The article detailed an expert testimony given by Chainalysis head of investigations Elizabeth Bisbee, in which she admitted to having no scientific evidence of the software's accuracy.
Coindesk did
This was never about money laundering. Its about taking control over your money away from you and pushing you into fully surveillable custodial Bitcoin.
On May 3rd, 2024,
@PhoenixWallet
will be removed from US app stores.
Users from the US should empty their wallet:
- Settings > Close channels (Android)
- Settings > Drain wallet (iOS)
We highly recommend *not force-closing* channels, as on-chain fees could be significant.
There are so many incredible projects working on increasing privacy in LN. Yet everything people seem to care about is liquidity, scaling, and colorful apps. Without privacy, none of that will matter. You’ll be building financial surveillance tech.
The amount of people unable to wrap their heads around this issue is absolutely baffling to me. Chainalysis has testified to having *no scientific evidence* for its software's findings. This is not about "Bitcoin Privacy" or "Just use Monero, bro".
This is about a private,
@DontTraceMeBruh
@4moonsettler
@L0laL33tz
Exactly! No one is going arrest you for buying blueberries with Bitcoin. Now if you are facilitating drug money laundering & you are not a licensed bank with political donations => the odds are stacked against you. Blaming chainalysis is retarded. Btc is a public ledger
Privacy is hard, so I’ve been working on a thing called PrivacyIndex. 👇
PrivacyIndex aims to do what used to be - give you resources on tools, guides, cases and topics to help you protect yourself against adversaries.
In privacy there is no one fits
@don_givashit
@wef
works closely with govts around the world & want total surveillance of individuals.
@lightning
has been hindering LN privacy & P2P improvements (BOLT12, package obfuscation, decentralized liquidity ads, rendezvous routing/blinded paths).
The US Gov alleges that FINCens MSB guidelines do not require control over funds as *checks notes* a frying pan transfers heat, but does not exercise „control“ over what is being transferred.
.
@SamouraiDev
first hearing starts in 10 minutes. He's provided $3M bail, will be subjected to a curfew, GPS tracking, and must report to SDNY every 3 months.
Wish them luck.
Director of investigations and intelligence at CipherTrace describes the use of
@chainalysis
’ behavioral clustering heuristic as “reckless”
My latest for
@BitcoinMagazine
#Bitcoin
works without the Internet, but you need to know how to use it. If you depend on centralized infrastructure to interact with the Bitcoin network, Bitcoin can’t help you. Find the full article in the latest
@BitcoinMagazine
censorship resistant issue.
Connectivity in Canada is down 25%. If you want to learn how to transact
#Bitcoin
without the Internet & why it is important to know how to do so, read my article in the last
@BitcoinMagazine
print edition. It’s time to stop asking for permission.
Bitcoin journalism is f*cked.
I started
@theragetech
because Im tired of investors and advertisers telling me what to do for below minimum wage compensation.
What we need are publications willing to let journalists investigate the crap out of the companies, representatives and
Statistics like these make chain analysis firms look like your friends. They're not. Here's why:
Statistics showing that the overall use of cryptocurrencies is *not* illicit help us fight FUD. They're also necessary for chain analysis companies to keep existing: no
Over $24 billion worth of cryptocurrency was received by illicit addresses in 2023 accounting for 0.34% of all transaction volume,
@chainalysis
has estimated.
Privacy only extend so far as the cooperation of one’s fellows in society. I wrote about privacy as a community effort and why pushes toward
#bitcoin
hyperadoption can put it at risk
@BitcoinMagazine
We all need to be very aware that what
@Snowden
is describing here is not some distant dystopian future. It's our dystopian reality.
In May, Elliptic, together with researchers from MIT and IBM, developed a dataset to identify "the shape of money laundering" on the blockchain.
EDWARD SNOWDEN JUST GAVE AN EXISTENTIAL WARNING TO ALL AMERICANS 🚨
“If you stick out, you will become non-normative, an anomaly.”
Snowden warns that within 5-10 years, big data will track every aspect of our lives on the blockchain in order to create predictive behavioral
Those of you who have paid close attention to Trump's speech at Bitcoin 2024 may have noticed that the former President – accidentally or intentionally – appears to have given away a lot more on his plans for the future of Bitcoin than meets the eye.
Despite his assurances to
For Trump, Bitcoin is merely a tool to "extend the dominance of the US Dollar to new frontiers all around the world". Analyzing Trump's Bitcoin2024 speech and its consequences for open-source development and the future of the freedom of transaction:
We created of a dedicated fund for support of
#Ukraine
#internet
, mobile and
#mesh
network infrastructure; development of alternative
#bitcoin
- &
#lightning
-based payment and messaging methods
Donations in BTC: bc1qflh4hlc6z6ke25ksv4g8t9gac740xsv6zvprr33cqxvv3l703xksmfnl2j
Three weeks ago I wrote an article on the EU's new AMLR in
@BitcoinMagazine
, detailing how the EU passed ALM laws restricting the use of Bitcoin privacy tools without any data to back up their claims that privacy heightens money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
As some people are calling for an apology to
@lightning
after my clarification post, I find it important to point out that I do not believe a single word they are saying.
@lightning
has been aware of the affiliation since at least 2020.
With Proton Wallet, you pre-sign a pool of receiving addresses with your PGP key; these are used to receive BTC. Once used they are deleted from the pool.
Proton tries to keep everything as private as possible, and stores almost nothing. However, they do state:
"Users like
For months people have voiced concerns around
#PLEBNET
’s privacy infringing practices. Since all concerns have been downplayed as FUD, here’s an in-depth data analysis instead. A mega thread
The Nostr Privacy Paradox: While Nostr is not a privacy project per se, it could bring potential improvements to
#Bitcoin
privacy. My latest for
@BitcoinMagazine
The assumption that "criminal intent lies with the individuals and not the tools they use" seems void with the TC verdict. This verdict is a full on declaration of war against privacy service in existence.
Many people are wondering why the DOJ is arguing against its own government. So I did some digging.
Meet FATF: The Financial Bullies Memberclub Trying To KYC The Planet
In another instance of old men trying to regulate things they don't understand, the "Blockchain Integrity Act" proposes to ban financial institutions from "handling, using, or transacting with funds routed through digital asset mixers."
Except that, if the legislation was
Let‘s talk about
@ambosstech
‘s new product „Reflex“ and why you should close all channels to Amboss immediately.
Reflex is a product bringing OFAC compliance to LN Nodes, yet the product is advertised as increasing „Freedom“ for node runners - and freedom, according to Amboss,
Hey
@bitrefill
, I wanted to let you know that you are selling prepaid Mastercards from a company called My Payment Vault that seems to be a scam and that I’d like to have my money back.
Unfortunately you aren’t answering my DMs and your customer support has been handwaving
Marketing myself as a Web3 expert now to tell people why Web3 is stupid.
Gave a talk about Web3 yesterday, spent the whole discussion round answering questions about Bitcoin & private/public key cryptography.
This is the way.
In the US, you can run a perfectly legitimate business transmitting millions in sex trafficking proceeds. Building privacy services is where the US Government draws the line.
Ran the numbers, even by the DoJs generous estimates only 3.6% of volume in Samourai Wallet was illicit.
Of course they don't mention the 96.4% of usage that was legitimate users seeking personal privacy on Bitcoin 🤔
Corporate media has once again shit the free press’ bed as Bloomberg describes questioning of Chainalysis as ‚smear campaign‘
My latest for
@BitcoinMagazine
While you were busy making fun of the UK for criminalizing free speech, the UN finalized its Cybercrime Convention which will overrule bank secrecy and criminalize hacking, whistleblowing, and security research.
Good Morning, it's been almost 2 months since the
@SamouraiWallet
arrests and there is still no sign of
@SamouraiDev
in the justice system.
I want to know why there is no public case filed against TDev (cross-referencing United States v. Ver whom the US is also seeking to
Due to popular demand I will soon offer a women’s only course on how to get completely rekt on the internet, to apply please post your full ID below. Follow me for more smart ideas
In one week, the DoJ managed to shut down 2/3rds of coinjoin services and drive one of the biggest node operators out of the US by causing complete regulatory uncertainty.
I hope those affected sue the life out of the DoJ for damages.
After years of relentless dedication to improve Bitcoin’s privacy, zkSNACKs, the company pioneering the development of Wasabi Wallet, is shutting down its coinjoin coordination service, effective June 1st, 2024.
Blog post announcement link:
If the EU had its way, self-custody, the Lightning Network, and any type of transaction obfuscation - including coinjoins - would soon be illegal in the EU.
#ChatControl
is the first step in building compliance for a totalitarian mass-surveillance regime, in which none of your
The EU is set to greenlight
#ChatControl
tomorrow. Mass-surveiling messaging is the first step in undermining all encryption in the EU.
That includes your Bitcoin transactions:
In another instance of old men trying to regulate things they don't understand, the "Blockchain Integrity Act" proposes to ban financial institutions from "handling, using, or transacting with funds routed through digital asset mixers."
Except that, if the legislation was
The US just recommended a 30-year prison sentence for alleged Bitcoin Fog operator Roman Sterlingov.
It's the year of dangerous precedents in which your right to privacy is on the line, and it begs the question of how much science matters in a court of law when it comes to BTC
The case that put blockchain analysis on trial is moving forward with the sentencing of alleged Bitcoin Fog operator Roman Sterlingov – but not everyone's convinced that the government's got the right guy.
Full story 👇
Fun fact: LN is centralizing. If core nodes are removed, the network is at risk to compartmentalize. We need to better distribute weight, let's start being
#reckless
again! Sauce:
@BitcoinMagazine
The banking system is offline because canadas biggest telecommunication service provider is offline, including mobile data. Regions affected cannot still use bitcoin, because they don’t have Internet. Wow.
When a Senator proposes legislation using words like "integrity", it's usually a good time to look at his own moral compass.
Turns out Senator Casten employed Sam Bankman-Fried's brother Gabriel and received campaign donations from FTX associates. Now Casten wants to ban privacy
Hey
@chainalysis
, next time you try to call someone unqualified for being denied a FED membership, maybe make sure that the very letter of denial doesn't cite insufficiencies to prevent AML violations in your own software as a reason for rejection 💖
Chainalysis attempts to evade source code audit by denouncing Bitcoin Core contributor as "unqualified", cites risk of "irreparable damage" to its business
My latest for
@BitcoinMagazine
With Proton's apparent plans to build a Whirlpool client, it seems obvious that their decision on whether or not to follow through will hinge on the outcome of the Samourai Wallet trial – But the Tornado Cash trial is arguably much more important to Proton's potential coinjoin
The Tornado Cash trial against Roman Storm is not a trial against one person. It is a trial against us all.
Is the right to financial privacy protected by the US Constitution? And will code remain classified as free speech? Will we turn the law on its head by arguing that those
Why Your Rights Are At Stake In The Tornado Cash Trial
The criminal case against Roman Storm is about much more than just one man: it's about whether our constitutional rights to privacy and free speech can persist in new technologies. By
@davidzmorris