Wallet of Satoshi, a provider of Bitcoin BTC + Lightning wallets, has taken its app out of the American Apple and Google app stores and made it clear that it “will not serve U.S. customers going forward.”
The Wallet of Satoshi team acknowledged that the news was disappointing for its American customers, but it did not provide any specific explanation for the decision. In other nations, you can still download the app.
The goal of the Bitcoin Lightning app was to reassure current American users that their money was available and could be taken out and moved to a different wallet provider.
Because of the country’s regulations pertaining to the cryptocurrency industry, users had previously conjectured that the app might be prohibited in the United States, particularly in light of the recent legal action filed against Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance. The company has publicly stated that it decided to remove the app.
John Carvalho, CEO of Bitcoin software developer Synonym, responded, saying, “Wallet of Satoshi needs to comply with local regulations or laws in ways that it cannot, or does not want to” With further advancements, the company is still optimistic about returning to the nation. “We sincerely hope that forthcoming events will permit us to reexamine and potentially restart our activities in the United States,” it stated.
Near record capacity and one million Lightning transactions
One of the most well-known Bitcoin Lightning wallets, Wallet of Satoshi is expected to handle over a million Lightning Network transactions in November, setting a new record. However, the company has already come under fire for its custodial app, which keeps control of users’ money in contrast to non-custodial options that let users keep total control over their bitcoin.
The capacity for US dollars has increased by 67% in the last two months to $207 million, which is just short of the record of $215 million set in November 2021 during the height of the bull market. Over that time, the capacity of Bitcoin increased by 20% to reach 5,530 BTC, which is marginally less than the previous record of 5,640 BTC set in July.
