Edward Snowden Delivers ‘Final’ Bitcoin Warning: Here’s Why

Edward
Snowden,
the
well-known
whistleblower,
reiterated
his
long
standing
concerns
about
Bitcoin’s
privacy
features,
or
the
lack
thereof
in
a
recent
post
on
X.
Snowden’s
latest
comments
emerge
in
the
wake
of
a
significant
announcement
by
the
Wasabi
Wallet
team
concerning
their
decision
to
discontinue
their
coinjoin
coordination
service,
a
cornerstone
for
enhancing
user
privacy
on
the
Bitcoin
network.

‘The
Clock
Is
Ticking’
For
Bitcoin,
Says
Snowden

Snowden
expressed
his
frustration
with
the
slow
pace
of
privacy
enhancements
within
Bitcoin’s
protocol.
“I’ve
been
warning
Bitcoin
developers
for
ten
years
that
privacy
needs
to
be
provided
for
at
the
protocol
level.
This
is
the
final
warning.
The
clock
is
ticking,”
Snowden
posted
on
X,
commenting
on
Wasabi
Wallet’s
announcement
from
yesterday.

I’ve
been
warning
Bitcoin
developers
for
ten
years
that
privacy
needs
to
be
provided
for
at
the
protocol
level.
This
is
the
final
warning.
The
clock
is
ticking.

https://t.co/r7w7gdrHRp

—
Edward
Snowden
(@Snowden)

May
2,
2024

Wasabi
Wallet,
developed
by
zkSNACKs,
has
been
a
pioneering
solution
aimed
at
enhancing
privacy
for
Bitcoin
transactions
through
its
coinjoin
coordination
service.
However,
a
recent
blog
post
by
the
Wasabi
Wallet
team
detailed
their
decision
to
halt
this
service
as
of
June
1,
2024.

“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,”
the
post
read.
The
developers
highlighted
ongoing
regulatory
pressures
and
the
need
for
legal
clarity
as
key
reasons
behind
their
decision.

Despite
discontinuing
the
coinjoin
service,
Wasabi
Wallet
will
continue
to
operate
as
a
conventional
BTC
wallet.
The
team
assured
users
of
continued
privacy
enhancements
through
other
features
like
client-side
filtering,
Tor
integration,
and
custom
coin
selection,
though
they
acknowledged
these
measures
do
not
ensure
complete
privacy
on
their
own.

This
development
arrives
amid
increasing
scrutiny
and
legal
challenges
facing
crypto
privacy
tools.
Notably,
New
York
federal
prosecutors
recently

charged
the
founders
of
another
privacy-focused
wallet,
Samourai
Wallet,
with
facilitating
illegal
transactions
worth
over
$2
billion.
This
action
is
part
of
a

broader
crackdown
by
US
authorities
on
wallets
and
mixers
associated
with
illicit
activities.

While
Snowden
has

lauded
Bitcoin
in
February
as
the
“most
significant
monetary
advance
since
the
creation
of
coinage,”
his
concerns
about
BTC
built-in
privacy
have
been
consistent.
In
November
2021,
he
lauded
the
advancements
made
by
Zcash,
another
cryptocurrency
known
for
its
strong
privacy
features.

He
stated,
“Zcash
meaningfully
advanced
what
cryptocurrency
could
DO,
and
that’s
what
I
admired
about
it.
And
my
primary
criticism
of
Bitcoin
is
still,
so
many
years
later,
that
they
haven’t
addressed
its
enormous
on-chain
privacy
problem.”

In
contrast,
Samson
Mow,
a
prominent
figure
in
promoting
nation-state
adoption
of
Bitcoin,

downplayed
the
significance
of
Wasabi’s
announcement.
Mow
argued,
“I
don’t
get
why
everyone
is
crying
about
this.
Wasabi
is
open-source.
You
can
run
your
own
coordinator
too.
This
is
like
the
Pirate
Bay
saying
they
won’t
seed
torrents
anymore.
Yes,
good
and
smart
move.”

At
press
time,
BTC
traded
at
$61,900.

Featured
image
from
Literary
Hub,
chart
from
TradingView.com