Wallet of Satoshi ceases US customer support

The team behind the custodial Lightning wallet for mobile devices Wallet of Satoshi announced the removal of the app from the App Store and Google Play in the United States, and a decision to discontinue serving US customers.

To our valued Wallet of Satoshi community in the United States of America,

We’ve dedicated ourselves to providing the best Bitcoin experience with Wallet of Satoshi, being at the forefront of Lightning usability and adoption. However, we’ve made the difficult decision to remove…

— Wallet of Satoshi (@walletofsatoshi) November 24, 2023

“This decision was not easy. Our commitment to providing a safe, convenient and globally compatible platform remains unwavering. Our top priority is the safety, the interests of customers and the company,” the statement said.

The reasons for the decision were not disclosed. US users have the option to withdraw or transfer funds to another wallet.

The developers did not rule out that they might resume operations in the United States in the future.

The official statement from the team appeared after messages circulated on social media about the removal of Wallet of Satoshi from the App Store and Google Play Store in the United States.

Wallet of Satoshi banned in the US? pic.twitter.com/S44qN5UI2U

— ck (@ck_SNARKs) November 23, 2023

As of writing, the app remained available for download in the Russian App Store. According to Cointelegraph, it can also be downloaded by users in Australia and Singapore.

Podcaster Kevin Rooke noted the popularity of the Lightning wallet. According to him, in November the platform will process more than 1.1 million payments.

Wallet of Satoshi is on pace to process over 1.1 million Lightning payments in November.

This will be their largest month of Lightning payments ever.

⚡️ pic.twitter.com/oCxIce7kit

— Kevin Rooke (@kerooke) November 22, 2023

In June, Apple rejected a new version of the non-custodial wallet Zeus for the Lightning Network.

Previously, the company threatened to remove the Damus app, the decentralized social network. The project’s developer, William Kasarin, did not rule out abandoning the monetization of content in satoshis.