Efe Nail Saltık 
Phoenix and Wasabi, US market withdrawn, due to constrained self-storage budgets. Recent global crackdowns on Consensys and Samourai have sparked fear in other crypto service providers operating in the US.
ACINQ’s Bitcoin wallet Phoenix Wallet and zkSNACKs’ Wasabi Wallet are terminating service for US customers following recent crackdowns on two major self-storage cryptocurrency wallet providers.
Both companies have expressed concerns about whether self-custodial providers could be viewed as legitimate money services businesses following recent U.S. rules against MetaMask creator Consensys and cryptocurrency issuer Samourai Wallet.
“Recent announcements from US authorities are notable, with zkSNACKs now strictly banning US users from using the services.”
“Recent announcements by US authorities raise doubts that self-custodial fund providers, Lightning service providers or Lightning nodes may not be considered Money Services Businesses and may be regulated accordingly,” ACINQ said in a statement on April 26.
Phoenix Wallet users were given until May 2 to adjust to the published changes, while the new policy on Wasabi Wallet “immediately entered into relationships,” ACINQ said.
ACINQ recommended that Phoenix Wallet users offload their spending but “force close it,” as “on-chain fees can be significant.” Recently, those around the world have claimed that intrinsic cryptocurrencies can facilitate illegal activities such as money laundering.
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