Wallet of Satoshi, a well-known provider of Bitcoin Lightning wallet services, has officially announced its withdrawal from the US market. This decision, disclosed via a Twitter post, comes at a time when the app was nearing a notable milestone of over a million transactions in a single month.
Another player quits the US market
The development surfaced after numerous crypto enthusiasts and users in the United States reported the sudden unavailability of the Wallet of Satoshi (WoS) app on Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. These observations, made on November 24th, highlighted an unexpected void in the market, with attempts to locate the WoS app either yielding no results or redirecting users to alternative wallet applications. Interestingly, the app’s availability remained unaffected in other countries, underscoring the specificity of the US market exit.
Increased hostility or voluntary exit?
The Bitcoin Lightning Network, a second-layer solution designed to enhance Bitcoin’s scalability, has seen an impressive growth of 1,200% over the last two years. Wallet of Satoshi’s departure from the US, therefore, marks a notable setback for the Bitcoin Lightning space in the region.
While the precise motivations behind Wallet of Satoshi’s decision to exit the US market remain unarticulated, speculation abounds that it may be a response to the increasingly complex regulatory landscape in the United States. Recent legal challenges faced by Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, have amplified concerns about a possible regulatory crackdown targeting the cryptocurrency industry. Despite these speculations, Wallet of Satoshi has not provided explicit details on whether the move was a proactive strategy or a reaction to external regulatory pressures.
In its communication, Wallet of Satoshi acknowledged the potential disappointment among its US user base but expressed hope for future conditions that might enable a return to the US market. For now, they assured their US customers that access to their Bitcoin funds remains intact. Users are encouraged to withdraw or transfer their funds to other wallets, offering a buffer against potential disruptions in accessing their cryptocurrency assets.
