Swan Bitcoin Terminates Accounts Using Crypto Mixing Services
- Swan Bitcoin’s CTO and co-founder explained the firm’s new policy regarding crypto mixing.
- Pritzker underscored the need for actual “Bitcoiners” in the government.
- Nevertheless, the statement drew criticism from several entities, including Samourai Wallet.
Swan Bitcoin CTO and Co-Founder, Yan Pritzker, wrote a long statement on X (formerly Twitter) on November 12, explaining the firm’s new policy regarding crypto mixing. He highlighted that the platform’s decision to terminate or freeze accounts was due to the regulatory obligations of its partners—from banks to qualified custodians.
Recently we announced that some of the banks and qualified custodians that Swan works with have been freezing or terminating accounts involved in mixing Bitcoin. Today I’d like to help the industry get perspective on what’s going on, and what steps we are taking to do the right…
— Yan | swan.com (@skwp) November 11, 2023
Pritzker underscored that Swan Bitcoin favors coin-mixing services and claimed to have promoted companies like Samourai and Wasabi. Yet he also accentuated the challenge of processing USD in the U.S. without using a bank or Money Services Business (MSB).
On October 19, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) rolled out a new notice, encompassing the dangers associated with the vast usage of CVC mixing platforms by shady actors worldwide. In its press release, it specifically mentions political and military organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
With this, Swan’s CTO and co-founder cited a recent story that circulated online where Hamas allegedly obtained $100 million in funding . He said:
Because Bitcoin is still poorly understood in Washington and by the media, it is an easy scapegoat for the failings of the system to stop much actual financial crime.
Pritzker also underscored the need for actual “Bitcoiners”—who truly understand the coin and its technology—in the government.
Nevertheless, the statement drew criticism from several entities, including Samourai Wallet, one of the wallets that provides mixing services, who accused the company of complying instead of “mounting a defense”. An X user, Vlad is Breaking FUD (@TheVladCostea), even called the move a “dystopian s**t” and a Bitcoin-only flavor that’s “synonymous with compliant (and ultimately anti-Bitcoin).”
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