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Samourai Whirlpool, which enables CoinJoin transactions in trouble – founders arrested.
Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency ever created, and every wallet is adjusted to comply. That is the case with Samourai as well. It is a mobile tool for Android devices that allows users to manage Bitcoin transactions. The iOS version of the tool is currently under development.
About Samourai Wallet
Samourai Whirlpool is a free and open-source platform that enables CoinJoin. It aims to enhance privacy when conducting bitcoin transactions, allowing Users to send bitcoins without revealing information about prior transactions.
Users pay a one-time, flat fee for anonymity and can use this feature limitlessly. Additionally, Users can use Whirlpool on their mobile device or pair it with the Samourai wallet desktop application.
What Is Samourai Sentiel?
Samourai Sentinel is a free and open-source watch-only Bitcoin wallet. It can track transactions and balances on hardware wallets, including Trezor and Ledger. It is an online companion for Users’ offline and cold-storage Bitcoin wallets.
Features of Samourai
The platform supports Segregated Witness (SegWit). It is a proposed upgrade to the Bitcoin protocol, created to help lower fees and speed up Bitcoin transactions.
Offline mode is available, meaning the User can initiate Bitcoin transactions without a network connection. With Samourai, users can broadcast transactions to the Bitcoin network either using Samourai Sentinel or a mesh network.
Smart miner fees are available, allowing Users to use miner fee estimation to set a priority level for Users’ transactions. Users can even increase the miner fee of a transaction using the Replace-by-Fee (RBF) feature after sending it. Stealth mode is also available, which replaces the Samourai icon on users’ Android devices’ home screens and launchers with another app. This application could be like a calculator or notepad.
To maintain anonymity, the User can use a VPN or TOR (The Onion Router) to anonymize the User’s IP. PayNym is a private and secure feature for sending and receiving Bitcoin. Unlike traditional Bitcoin addresses, Users won’t be able to view the balance or transactions linked to a PayNym on the blockchain.
Privacy And Safety
VPNs and TOR ensure privacy and security, demonstrating a strong commitment to anonymizing IP addresses. Over the internet, it is said that it is a pioneer in incorporating SegWit into a mobile wallet, paving the way for lightning network integration.
Although it was only launched in 2018, Samourai boasts a wide range of features related to security and privacy. For some users, the single coin support (BTC) and the not finalized iOS version might be considered downsides.
Samourai wallet is considered to be one of the most secure wallets. However, it is advisable to refrain from storing and managing large amounts of cryptocurrency wealth. It is due to its mobile nature and ease of use.
The Importance Of Safety In The Crypto World
It is a no-brainer that safe actions are a vital advantage for every wallet user in the crypto world. The Bitcoin-compatible Samourai has a good deal of features in that direction. It stays connected to the network; thus, the wallet gets trusted blockchain data. The ownership of the private keys boosts the safety of the Samourai wallet. Here is what it does to keep Users’ crypto assets secure:
How Does The Wallet Function
The wallet is open source; the Samourai team of developers adjusted the code to be open source. This way, fixing issues will be part of the daily routine. These days, community involvement in the project has increased. Moreover, no VPN is required as security is backed up by efficient privacy and anonymity components.
Samourai works with the network on a higher level and manages to cover Users’ online tracks left by each executed transaction.
This function cloaks the sender’s IP address. It makes it blurry for the other people in the network to see and trace it back to the User. A good tool for that is the Onion Router, which is reachable via Orbot.
Every online action will pass through an encrypted tunnel in the network. Each action passes several tunnels. The exit points are different, which masks Users’ IP addresses effectively.
Federal Prosecutors Charge Samourai Wallet Fonders
Federal prosecutors have charged the founders of Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez, and William Lonergan Hill. They are accused of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The duo allegedly developed and operated a mixer that facilitated over $100 Million in illegal money laundering transactions.
The wallet reportedly facilitated around $2 Billion in “unlawful transactions” between 2015 and now. Rodriguez has been arrested in Pennsylvania, while Hill was arrested in Portugal and will be extradited to the US. The DOJ has seized the website and issued a seizure warrant for Samourai’s mobile application to the Google Play Store.
Summary
Samourai Wallet, a reasonably new cryptocurrency wallet, offers users anonymity for a one-time flat fee. It has security and privacy-related features but only supports BTC and has yet to have a finalized iOS version. Recently, its founders were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Charges are for allegedly developing a mixer that facilitated over $100 Million in illegal transactions.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions stated by the author or any people named in this article are for informational purposes only. They do not establish financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading in stocks, cryptos, or other related indexes comes with a risk of financial loss.
Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.
