WikiLeaks Shop, a division of a well-known organization, learned that its account with a cryptocurrency wallet on the American exchange Coinbase was blocked.
On the one hand, the American cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase - on the other, WikiLeaks Shop, an advertising agent for the international anonymous publication WikiLeaks.
Coinbase has blocked an account with a cryptocurrency wallet and transactions on its platform for WikiLeaks Shop. According to the letter sent to WikiLeaks, Coinbase "is unable to process brokerage orders through its banking relationships." WikiLeaks reportedly reached out to Coinbase for clarification, but appeared unhappy with the lack of details surrounding the decision.
Coinbase, which is registered with the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Division, in its letter cited a violation of the company's terms of service and based its denial of access to its service. The WikiLeaks store was then advised to redirect the remaining balance to an external digital wallet.
As WikiLeaks stated on Twitter, the account was suspended suddenly, without warning, and Coinbase has not provided an explanation to date.
WikiLeaks responded by calling on its estimated five million followers for a global blockade of Coinbase.
WikiLeaks, founded by Assange in 2006, depends on donations to keep the site running so it can continue publishing classified data. WikiLeaks investigates the actions of authorities and organizations. The WikiLeaks online store sells a variety of products such as T-shirts, hoodies and posters featuring Edward Snowden. Merchandise sales and customer donations help fund the operating costs of the company's investigations. The store accepts payments in Bitcoin, Litecoin and several other cryptocurrencies through Coinpayments.net.
It is unclear what exactly they mean by their statement, just as it is unclear what kind of global blockade of Coinbase is possible under the circumstances. There is a large selection of cryptocurrency wallets on the modern market, and the blocking of Coinbase is rather symbolic in nature. However, this situation quite clearly demonstrates what the consequences of centralization and banking regulation in the crypto industry can be.
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