We’ve got one shot at fixing the law or Americans simply won't have access to the best wallets available and US devs will be locked out of providing the best UX! It’s time for Bitcoiners to fight for our right to access our wallets, before it’s too late. As most of you know, under Biden, the DOJ decided that ancillary services to noncustodial wallets are MSBs, charging both Samurai Wallet and Tornado Cash with operating an unregistered Money Services Business (nevermind that no regulator would have accepted theirr registration!). The definition the DOJ used applies not just to privacy services, but also to lightning nodes, rollup sequencers, Ark, Spark, and more. Basically every technology anyone has come up with for providing better scalability, privacy, or user experience for cryptocurrencies requires some kind of ancillary service, the exact things that would be made illegal! While the Trump DOJ has (partially) walked that back, the next admin will be right back at it - the only solution is to get the law changed so that this isn't a risk in three years. Luckily, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act was recently re-introduced by Reps Emmer and Torres to fix this issue, but they need our help! Please, please, pick up the phone and make a 5 minute call to congress, make clear that this is a simple straightforward amendment of the law to bring it in line with existing FinCEN rules. saveourwallets.org will give you the phone numbers to call for your zip code. View quoted note →

Replies (7)

regulations unfortunately have a big impact on adoption, if you’re in the USA please take a minute to register your opinion on a proposed law to improve clarity around rules for decentralized bitcoin services!! View quoted note →
I can't stand the current regime, but I still support this piece of legislation. — I would prefer not to go to prison for working on the Bitcoin Core wallet.
I hear yah. Personally, I think we're done voting freely, though. Probably not worth it given all the people (including my father when I was just two) that gave their lives for that right. But, what do I know? Maybe I'm wrong. It's rare, but it happens. I won't be here, so I get to watch it all like seeing a building burn down from the inside without worrying too much. It changes my priorities from anything related to me to completely on to how to prepare my loved ones. Obviously, #bitcoin is central to that plan. I have a hundred emails scheduled and maybe 60 videos scheduled for YouTube (cool feature). I'm also documenting my journey and symptoms because #medicine decided to redact the #science. I'm here on #Nostr now to share it all and to preserve the science. It's been an up and down 30 years since I gave myself this condition to save myself, ironically. That sure sounds like worthwhile science, right? It have me 30 years, even if it out me through hell at times.
Whether you love this administration or hate it (or, like most of us, are somewhere in between), what the next administration does we cannot predict. The only solution is a change to the laws that bind every administration!
Asako's avatar
Asako 6 months ago
A non-custodial wallet is a key measure against hacking. On the blockchain, hackers often wait for the moment when two keys appear simultaneously. In just that brief instant, they can steal cryptocurrencies. Before launching an attack, hackers monitor transaction data on the blockchain to identify targets—usually wallets with large balances. These are often found on centralized exchanges. To reduce this risk, we need non-custodial wallets. By decentralizing assets from exchanges to individual users, we can minimize the risk of large-scale hacks. Imagine if a bank were hacked... Crypto wallets are like being able to withdraw your own cash directly from an ATM. If they outlaw this technology, they're essentially giving hackers the green light to steal large amounts of money.
Matt Corallo's avatar Matt Corallo
We’ve got one shot at fixing the law or Americans simply won't have access to the best wallets available and US devs will be locked out of providing the best UX! It’s time for Bitcoiners to fight for our right to access our wallets, before it’s too late. As most of you know, under Biden, the DOJ decided that ancillary services to noncustodial wallets are MSBs, charging both Samurai Wallet and Tornado Cash with operating an unregistered Money Services Business (nevermind that no regulator would have accepted theirr registration!). The definition the DOJ used applies not just to privacy services, but also to lightning nodes, rollup sequencers, Ark, Spark, and more. Basically every technology anyone has come up with for providing better scalability, privacy, or user experience for cryptocurrencies requires some kind of ancillary service, the exact things that would be made illegal! While the Trump DOJ has (partially) walked that back, the next admin will be right back at it - the only solution is to get the law changed so that this isn't a risk in three years. Luckily, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act was recently re-introduced by Reps Emmer and Torres to fix this issue, but they need our help! Please, please, pick up the phone and make a 5 minute call to congress, make clear that this is a simple straightforward amendment of the law to bring it in line with existing FinCEN rules. saveourwallets.org will give you the phone numbers to call for your zip code. View quoted note →
View quoted note →