Samourai Wallet, in a detailed Twitter thread, has accused its primary rival, Wasabi Wallet, of orchestrating a “psyop” (psychological operation) through its educational initiative, Coinjoins.org. This accusation is believed to be a distraction tactic by Samourai, stemming from Wasabi’s recent collaboration with chain surveillance firms for the development of “compliant coinjoin.”
No verification or sources supporting Samourai’s claim about Wasabi’s “compliant coinjoin” were provided at the time of the report.
The discourse also delved into the PlusToken Ponzi scheme, which Samourai alleges had its mixing mechanism unveiled due to flaws in Wasabi’s protocol. Research from OXT indicated an unusual repetition in addresses from Wasabi mixer outputs, hinting at an ongoing Sybil attack on Wasabi’s mixer, which purportedly links back to PlusToken.
To elaborate, a Sybil attack involves one node creating multiple false identities in a peer-to-peer system like a blockchain, aiming to manipulate or gather insights on the network.
Moreover, reports on the North Korean Lazarus Group and inquiries into the KuCoin hack and Hydra dark web marketplace criticized Wasabi’s CoinJoin execution. However, these sources, connected to Blender—a Wasabi interface—originated from one entity, suggesting potential bias. Adding to this, it’s worth noting OXT Research’s previously declared collaboration with Samourai.
Samourai also asserts that in 2020 they identified a deterministic flaw in Wasabi’s coin selection algorithm for Coinjoin, compromising its anonymity. Although Wasabi reportedly dismissed the claim, they seemed to have silently addressed the issue later.
“When confronted with actual on chain reproducible research, Thibaud, Wasabi, and many of the influencers and podcasters paid by Wasabi marketing swept it all under the rug. Now we’re expected to believe they care about open-source blockchain coinjoin research. Give me a break.” – Samourai Wallet spokesperson
The dispute between Samourai and Wasabi isn’t fresh. Since 2019, and possibly earlier, Samourai has been vocal about supposed privacy loopholes in Wasabi’s Coinjoin approach. Reflecting on their ongoing feud, Mário Havel, from privacy non-profit Paralelni Polis, stated in 2020 that while the two wallets have had numerous disagreements, Samourai’s research significantly contributes to Bitcoin’s privacy sphere.
However, it is essential to recognize that the intricacies in Samourai’s claims against Wasabi demand specific technical expertise to fully comprehend and validate. Thus, relying on expert opinions is the most prudent approach to understanding this complex issue.
