Wallets Block US Users

The Samourai arrests in April 2024 changed wallet behavior almost immediately. Projects that had marketed privacy as a core feature started geofencing U.S. traffic, pausing coordinators, or removing tools that could be interpreted as mixing infrastructure. Public explanations usually referenced legal uncertainty and the FBI PSA on non-custodial wallets, but the practical pressure came from multiple directions at once: exchange freezes, banking alerts, and sanctions-driven compliance reviews.

Wasabi, Railgun-facing interfaces, and several adjacent services tightened access in stages. Ginger, a Wasabi-derived wallet, also moved back and forth on U.S. access as policy and banking pressure changed. This page tracks that pattern and focuses on what users can do if they need lawful privacy options without depending on one coordinator or one jurisdiction.

How Wallet Geofencing Took Hold

Geofencing did not happen in one move. Operators rolled out restrictions in waves: U.S. IP filtering on coordinators, region blocks in wallet front-ends, and conservative defaults in integrations that previously worked out of the box. Some hardware and software vendors also changed distribution policies because they did not want bundled privacy features to be interpreted as offering regulated money services.

The core driver was secondary liability risk. Once exchanges began freezing CoinJoin-linked deposits and banks started citing policy alerts, wallet teams moved into defensive mode. In many cases, teams were reacting to potential exposure rather than confirmed court orders. The chilling effect alone was enough to change product decisions.

Wasabi and Ginger: Shutdowns, Clones, and Reversals

Wasabi and Ginger became the clearest examples of two different responses. zkSNACKs shut down its coordinator in June 2024 and cited legal cost, exchange hostility, and enforcement risk. Community-run alternatives appeared, but the primary U.S.-accessible path many users depended on was gone.

Ginger took a more adaptive route, toggling U.S. access as legal and commercial pressure shifted. Even when access returned, operators still warned users that exchange treatment could remain harsh. That is the key lesson: a geoblock can be lifted, but transaction reputation and compliance friction often remain.

Impact on Users and Liquidity

For U.S. users, the short-term impact was immediate: fewer pools, longer waits, and higher operational friction. Geofenced coordinators often blocked U.S.-located Tor exits, forcing users to rotate network paths just to reach previously routine features. Exchange compliance teams also started grouping outputs from multiple privacy wallets into the same high-risk bucket, which meant more manual reviews and more source-of-funds requests.

Liquidity did not disappear, but it shifted. More flow moved to offshore desks, invitation-based markets, and swap-driven routing via private exchanges and atomic swap tools. Users who had relied on one familiar wallet UI suddenly had to learn a multi-tool workflow to keep comparable privacy outcomes.

What U.S. Users Can Do

The most resilient approach is layered and documented. Keep multiple privacy paths available - CoinJoin variants, PayJoin, Cashu-style e-cash, and Monero workflows - so one product decision does not leave you stranded. Before touching regulated venues, keep clear origin records and pre-check exposure using the BitMixList AML Checker.

Also monitor policy changes continuously. A wallet that works for U.S. users today can change access terms quickly after a new enforcement headline. The crackdown timeline, the FBI PSA explainer, and the Samourai case page help you understand why these shifts happen and how to explain your transaction history when a bank or exchange asks questions.

References

Author

NotATether

Bitcoin privacy researcher and maintainer of BitMixList. Focused on mixer history, enforcement timelines, and practical privacy workflows for users operating in high-friction jurisdictions.