Wasabi coordinator address screening (2024)
In February 2024, the zkSNACKs coordinator that runs the official Wasabi Wallet coinjoin began screening inputs against the Chainalysis sanctions list. This reduces the no-discrimination property users expected from coinjoin and split the community.
What happened
- February 2024: zkSNACKs, the operator of the official Wasabi coordinator, announces it will refuse to coinjoin inputs that screening flags as linked to sanctioned addresses or known illicit activity.
- Justification: regulatory pressure on the operator, following on from the broader 2023-2024 enforcement environment.
- Community response splits — some users continue with Wasabi accepting the screening trade-off; others migrate to forks (Ginger Wallet) that run alternative coordinators without screening, or to JoinMarket which has no central coordinator at all.
- The Wasabi software itself remains open-source and the WabiSabi protocol remains coordinator-agnostic; users with technical capacity can point Wasabi at non-zkSNACKs coordinators.
Why it matters
Wasabi was the most-used Bitcoin coinjoin client. The shift to coordinator-side screening fundamentally changed the no-discrimination property that drew many users to it. For users who specifically wanted a coordinator that would not refuse to mix with anyone, Wasabi-official ceased to be the default.
Status in 2026
zkSNACKs continues to screen on the official coordinator. Ginger Wallet and other forks run alternative coordinators. JoinMarket has no coordinator. The Bitcoin coinjoin landscape in 2026 is fragmented across these options; pick based on whether coordinator screening matters in your threat model.
Related directory entries
Sources
Explainer reviewed .
Cite as: https://fuckyc.org/explainers/wasabi-coordinator-screening-2024/