Bitcoin (BTC) users, who employ privacy tool CoinJoin to add anonymity to their transactions, face a major wake-up call after Binance froze a withdrawal.
Binance Returns Frozen BTC After User ‘Promises’ Not to Use CoinJoin https://t.co/ZSj3Ll0Obo #news #bitcoin — Crypto Planet (@crypto7000) December 21, 2019
On December 19, in an ongoing Twitter debate, a user by the name of Catxolotl uploaded what appeared to be correspondence from Binance Singapore staff by stating that they had launched an “investigation” into a withdrawal of an unknown amount of BTC.
Bitcoiners be warned: this is what happens if @BinanceSGD finds you withdrawing to @wasabiwallet Not surprised that my transactions are tracked, it's KYC after all But I'm very concerned that Binance knew I was sending to wasabi, when all I input was a bc1 address, nothing more pic.twitter.com/T6ePjahESY — Catxolotl (@bittlecat) December 19, 2019
However, the reason they said was Catxolotl, who was using CoinJoin through Wasabi, a wallet provider.
A Binance representative confirmed:
“Binance SG operates under the requirements as set forth by MAS and our MAS regulated partner, Xfers. Hence there are AML CFT controls set in place for the Binance SG. Unfortunately, this user has triggered one of our risk control mechanisms and thus we are conducting a deeper investigation.”
Likewise, CoinJoin refers to a method of grouping together Bitcoin transactions, “mixing” unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) and hiding who sent what to which address in order to increase all users’ privacy.
According to Binance, including Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of Binance, Singapore regulations meant CoinJoin transactions were no longer desirable.
A subsequent email allegedly reads:
“However, at this juncture, Binance Singapore does not tolerate any transactions directly and indirectly associated with gambling, P2P, and especially darknet/mixer sites.”
Similarly, Catxolotl confirmed:
“Update: I got my sats back, but not without promising Big Brother I wouldn’t mix those utxos. Hope everyone got something out of this.”
It has been analyzed that neither Binance nor CZ prepared to apologize for what they saw as abiding by local laws, a fierce debate erupted on social media, with well-known Bitcoin figures clashing over the decision to root out transactions with enhanced privacy.
The Bitcoin Twitter handle wrote by tagging self-confessed “Bitcoin maximalist” Giacomo Zucco:
“Some advocate using CoinJoin as a ‘best practice’ but they do not necessarily inform you on the risks.”
The account continued:
“FYI, a risk of using CoinJoin is @chainalysis or others will increase your ‘risk score’. @binance & others use these vendors & share data.”
Some advocate NOT using CoinJoin as a way to please bureaucrats & politicians, but they do not necessarily inform you on the risks. FYI, a risk of NOT using CoinJoin is being spied on by everybody, including kidnappers, extortionists, stalkers, competitors & crazy ex-wives. https://t.co/HDyTWZJx0A — Giacomo Zucco [I identify as Delete Binance!] (@giacomozucco) December 20, 2019
<img src="https://www.cryptonewspoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/binancesingapore-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-7445 lazyload" width="462" height="307" />
Moreover, Zucco responded in kind, highlighting the industry’s mixed feelings on what remains a serious challenge as more consumers choose to engage with Bitcoin.
He wrote:
“Some advocate NOT using CoinJoin as a way to please bureaucrats & politicians, but they do not necessarily inform you on the risks.”
He concluded:
“FYI, a risk of NOT using CoinJoin is being spied on by everybody, including kidnappers, extortionists, stalkers, competitors & crazy ex-wives.”
However, the controversy extended to Wasabi and CoinJoin itself.
Nicolas Dorier, the creator of BTCPay, an open-source Bitcoin payment gateway, hit back at suggestions Wasabi could control how its transactions were handled by exchanges.
Thus, he wrote:
“Any person saying that @wasabiwallet have any technical way to prevent their users to be harassed by binance is full of sh*t. No coinjoin scheme can prevent this at the moment.”
Any person saying that @wasabiwallet have any technical way to prevent their users to be harassed by binance is full of shit. No coinjoin scheme can prevent this at the moment. — Nicolas Dorier (@NicolasDorier) December 20, 2019
Source: cointelegraph.com