In a recent turn of events, Samourai Wallet, a Bitcoin wallet service provider, has accused Bitcoin mining pool Ocean of selectively censoring Bitcoin transactions. The top executive of Ocean has refuted these claims, suggesting that Samourai Wallet address a bug in their software.
In a statement on December 7, Samourai Wallet claimed that Ocean has initiated a new policy that censors specific Bitcoin transactions. The wallet provider also took aim at Jack Dorsey, co-founder of X (formerly Twitter) and Block, who is an investor in Ocean, accusing him of taking “hostile action.”
The allegations from Samourai Wallet extended to Ocean founder and Bitcoin Core dev, Luke Dashjr, accusing him of previously censoring transactions and using blacklists. The wallet provider further alleged that Dashjr had imposed a limit on the OP_RETURN function, which they believe excludes privacy-enhancing transactions.
Dashjr responded to these claims, expressing bewilderment at the data concerns raised by Samourai Wallet and suggested they “fix it on your end.” The allegations have divided the crypto community, with some siding with Samourai Wallet and others advising them to address the purported bug.
Samourai Wallet continues to stand by its accusations, charging Dashjr with misleading the community and deflecting blame. The wallet provider told the community, “Don’t let them get away with this.”