“Coinbase is a regulated Money Service Business under FinCEN,” and is “obligated to implement regulatory compliance mechanisms.” This is part of the letter that, according to WikiLeaks, was sent to them from Coinbase after their E-Shop was suspended, making reference to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN.

On Friday, WikiLeaks announced that “Coinbase has blocked the official @WikiLeaks shop from its platform without notice or explanation.” This shop sells items like books, phone cases and the recently added, CryptoKitties.

“Upon careful review, we believe your account has engaged in prohibited use in violation of our Terms of Service and we regret to inform you that we can no longer provide you with access to our service”

according to Coinbase’s letter sent to Wikileaks.

In response to the actions taken by Coinbase, WikiLeaks called for a, “global blockade of Coinbase next week, as an unfit member of the crypto-community.” WikiLeaks also added, “Coinbase, a large Californian Bitcoin processor, responding to a concealed influence, has blocked the entirely harmless @WikiLeaks shop, in a decision approved by management.” Reed official statement using this link:

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/987531916055318528

Active members of the cryptocurrency community have commented about the situation. One of them being the author, Andreas Antonopoulos, who said, “We have come full circle. Many people’s interest in bitcoin started when WikiLeaks was out under an extra judicial embargo by Visa, MC, PayPal and banks. Now Coinbase has repeated history.”

“It’s purely symbolic, unlike the first embargo. Now they have many options. But the symbolism is a pretty poignant reminder of what centralization and banking regulations mean.” Added  Antonopoulos.

Coinbase announced changes on their platform related to its merchant services. The company will no longer support custodial merchant processing solutions, replacing them with a free, non-custodial solution. Cheapair.com announced it is leaving this platform for this reason and its looking for a different payment processor for cryptocurrencies.

 

by Samuel Larreal

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