Edward Snowden, the famous whistleblower and advocate for cryptocurrencies, has issued a warning to Bitcoin developers, emphasizing the need to prioritize privacy at the protocol level. With the U.S. government intensifying its scrutiny of crypto mixers, Snowden stressed that time is running out to implement privacy solutions. He took to X to express his concerns, stating, “I’ve been warning Bitcoin developers for ten years that privacy needs to be provided for at the protocol level. This is the final warning. The clock is ticking.”
Snowden’s warning comes in response to the announcement by zkSNACKs, the developer of Wasabi Wallet, that it will be shutting down its Coinjoin service due to regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. In a statement, zkSNACKs explained that they have always operated with legal clarity and now require more certainty before moving forward.
The closure of crypto mixers, which are designed to obscure the source of crypto transactions, coincides with the U.S. government’s crackdown on companies offering these services. Last year, the founders of Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer, were charged with money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting service, and sanctions evasions. The U.S. Department of Justice also arrested the founders of Samourai Wallet, another crypto mixer, last month on similar charges. These actions have raised concerns within the crypto community about the treatment of self-custody wallets as unregistered money-transmitting businesses, potentially leading to increased regulatory enforcement for non-custodial crypto services.
Snowden criticized the DOJ’s actions against the Samourai Wallet founders and emphasized the need for greater privacy in cryptocurrencies. He argued, “The Department of ‘Justice’ has once again criminalized the developers of an app that restores financial privacy. The way to fix this is to make money private by default. Privacy must never be ‘exceptional,’ or they will make it criminal.”
Snowden’s warning carries weight due to his history as a whistleblower and his advocacy for digital assets. He famously leaked classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013 and has long defended cryptocurrencies. Recently, he referred to Bitcoin as “the most significant monetary advance since the creation of coinage.” His warning serves as a reminder of the consequences of inaction as regulatory pressures continue to mount.