Bitcointalk, a historic Bitcoin-focused forum, has announced it will start banning mixer-related topics next year. Forum administrator Theymos argued that while these services were not necessarily illegal, a pattern has emerged where these platforms are consistently being taken down by law enforcement.
Bitcointalk Forum Announces Upcoming Ban on Mixing Topics
Bitcointalk, a historic forum platform where Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto often wrote posts, has announced that it will enforce a ban on mixing related talk. The ban will start to be applied next year, affecting topics that describe the use of these platforms focused on increasing privacy and obscuring the source of the bitcoin held in an address.
Theymos, the administrator of the Bitcointalk platform, clarified that starting January 1, all old posts referring to mixers will be locked and archived, while new posts directing people to the use of mixers could lead users to be banned from the site. Mixer addresses will be filtered, and any attempts to go over this filter will also be ban-worthy. Theymos stated that discussing mixers “in a general sort of way” will still be allowed.
While Theymos acknowledges that cryptocurrency mixers are not illegal per se, he stressed it was “no longer reasonably possible to allow linking to mixers.” He stated:
A clear pattern has emerged where mixers pop up, last for a little while, and then get taken down by law enforcement once they get too big. Allowing mixers to be posted on bitcointalk.org before they seemingly-inevitably get declared illegal and seized is not sustainable.
The measure garnered mixed reactions from the community on the site, with some users criticizing the move while others acknowledged that it was necessary for the survival of the forum in the long term.
The ban comes after Sinbad, a cryptocurrency mixing platform, was labeled as a “key money-laundering tool” and sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for allegedly processing millions of dollars for hacking groups such as Lazarus.
What do you think about Bitcointalk’s ban on mixing topics? Tell us in the comments section below.