1/17 Having spent the last few days in the front row of a @SamouraiWallet vs. @wasabiwallet debate, it seems like the strongest argument against SW is "they have the users' xpubs & may be compelled to hand them over to law enforcement".
This struck me as a half-baked argument.
This struck me as a half-baked argument.
2/17 I'm not an attorney, however, I do have experience handling digital evidence in support of litigation. It's been years since I was in that line of work but by all means if you're an attorney and/or Bitcoiner & are so inclined, correct me if I'm wrong...
3/17 First of all let's clear something up. SW needs your xpub in order to display your wallet balance. Your xpub is sensitive in terms of your tx history, balances, & spend tx's. So it makes sense that this may be information that is sought after by law enforcement. However...
4/17 Anyone can create a new xpub, run their own @RoninDojoUI + SW and thus avoid sharing their xpub with anyone else, even the SW devs. 
5/17 Second of all, if you're not running a dojo and you're just using a standalone SW then there are only 2 ways I know of in which SW would obtain your xpub. 1) you create a new wallet in SW. Or 2) you restore a compatible wallet in SW.
6/17 In either case this doesn't require any identifying information. No name, no email, no phone #, no address, no goofy selfie holding your ID. In other words, SW may have your xpub but they don't know your identity.
7/17 Now consider what would drive law enforcement to knock on SWs door for an xpub. Obviously the rules differ by jurisdiction but ask yourself, in what world can law enforcement just request all the data? If a twitter user is under investigation do all accounts get turned over?
8/17 Law enforcement needs to be specific when making a request. They can't just show up and demand all the xpubs. There needs to be a specific xpub or set of xpubs that were involved with observable activity that compelled a court in a specific jurisdiction to grant a subpoena.
9/17 Which brings me to my next point. How is law enforcement going to observe the activity of an xpub? In an extreme case, if your xpub was publicly known prior to restoring it in your SW then, yes, maybe someone would be watching your xpub & maybe SW would have that xpub too.
10/17 But more likely than not, only your addresses will be engaged in any kind of observable activity. So it's more likely that if law enforcement asked SW anything it would be along the lines of "Do you have an xpub that contains this specific address that we're investigating"?
11/17 Before I drive the nail into this coffin, let me circle back. SW does not have any of your identifying info. Worst case, they have your xpub. The stars would really need to be aligned in order for law enforcement to come knocking on SW's door looking specifically for you:
1) You would need to have bought KYC bitcoin.
2) Moved it to SW sans dojo.
3) Made that xpub public.
4) Engaged in some stupid, red flag-raising activity.
5) Mix in a way that makes it an obvious SW service.
Then maybe 🚔
2) Moved it to SW sans dojo.
3) Made that xpub public.
4) Engaged in some stupid, red flag-raising activity.
5) Mix in a way that makes it an obvious SW service.
Then maybe 🚔
13/17 But even in that extreme case, law enforcement could just stop at back-tracking to #3 because they are not going to get any additional information out of SW. But let's say you just started at #4 in the previous example, there's no name just a string of addresses...
14/17 Law enforcement would need to know what specifically to ask SW. Demanding all the xpubs is just a grossly negligent overreach of power and any competent attorney would stop that request dead in it's tracks.
15/17 As for Trace Mayer's argument that you don't know who your mixing with and doing so could make you a party of intrest. Bullshit. Even if in the extremest of extreme cases & law enforcement could prove that a terrorist group joined a whirlpool & you happened to be in it...
16/17 A) law enforcement would need to know it's you by meeting the 5 criteria above. B) the whole point of mixing is the anonymity. That wouldn't make me any more of an accomplice than coincidentally sharing the same public transportation with a terrorist on my way across town.
17/17 What does SW do when law enforcement comes knocking?
A) Nothing, LE can't ask for all the xpubs.
B) If LE knows which xpub they're looking for, they don't need to ask SW for it.
That's it. That's the tweet.
A) Nothing, LE can't ask for all the xpubs.
B) If LE knows which xpub they're looking for, they don't need to ask SW for it.
That's it. That's the tweet.
