Bitcoin users who employ privacy tool CoinJoin to add anonymity to their transactions face a major wake-up call after exchange Binance froze a withdrawal.
In an ongoing Twitter debate which began Dec. 19, a user by the name of Catxolotl uploaded what appeared to be correspondence from Binance Singapore staff stating they had launched an "Investigation" into a withdrawal of an unknown amount of BTC.Binance: we "Do not tolerate" CoinJoin.
"Binance SG operates under the requirements as set forth by MAS and our MAS regulated partner, Xfers. Hence there are AML CFT controls set in place for the Binance SG. Unfortunately, this user has triggered one of our risk control mechanisms and thus we are conducting a deeper investigation."
CoinJoin refers to a method of grouping together Bitcoin transactions, "Mixing" unspent transaction outputs and hiding who sent what to which address in order to increase all users' privacy.
According to Binance, including CEO Changpeng Zhao, Singapore regulations meant CoinJoin transactions were no longer desirable.
As neither Binance nor CZ prepared to apologize for what they saw as abiding by local laws, a fierce debate erupted on social media, with well-known Bitcoin figures clashing over the decision to root out transactions with enhanced privacy.
"Some advocate NOT using CoinJoin as a way to please bureaucrats & politicians, but they do not necessarily inform you on the risks," he wrote.
"FYI, a risk of NOT using CoinJoin is being spied on by everybody, including kidnappers, extortionists, stalkers, competitors & crazy ex-wives."
The controversy extended to Wasabi and CoinJoin itself.
CZ has meanwhile released a dedicated blog post about the nature of the regulations with which Binance is obliged to comply.
Binance Returns Frozen BTC After User 'Promises' Not to Use CoinJoin
gepubliceerd op Dec 21, 2019
by Cointele | gepubliceerd op Coinage
Coinage
Vermeld in dit artikel
Recent nieuws
Alles zien
Blockchain Bites: Bitcoin's Run, Uniswap's Hemorrhaging Value, Anchorage's Banking Bid
Bitcoin is nearing all-time highs in price and market cap last set three years ago.
Japan's megabanks to lead experiment with digital yen
We have, in order, Cheese Bank with a $3.3 million theft, Akropolis with its $2 million loss, Value DeFi with a whopping $6 million exploit and finally Origin Protocol's loss of $7 million.
Number of new Bitcoin addresses spikes amid growing FOMO
Japan's three largest banks, as part of a group of 30 private sector actors, are set to collaborate on an experiment with a digital yen.
Not just Wall Street: Quant trader explains why Bitcoin price is going up
Sam Trabucco, a quantitative trader at Alameda Research, believes four general factors are pushing up the price of Bitcoin.