Phoenix Wallet, a Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning payment wallet, has announced that it will cease serving U.S. residents starting May 3. The company behind Phoenix Wallet, ACINQ, plans to remove the app from U.S. app stores, preventing users in the U.S. from accessing it after this date.

Users in the U.S. are advised to withdraw their funds promptly. However, it is important not to force-close the wallets as this could result in higher on-chain fees. Instead, American iOS users should navigate to the wallet’s settings page and select “drain wallet,” while Android users should go to the settings section and choose the “close channels” option to empty their wallets securely.

ACINQ has not provided an official reason for removing the wallet from U.S. app stores. However, recent statements from the U.S. government have raised concerns about the regulatory status of self-custodial wallets, Lightning service providers, and Lightning nodes.

The decision to pull the wallet from U.S. app stores comes shortly after legal action was taken against the creators of Samourai, a Bitcoin mixing wallet. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York recently indicted Samourai Wallet founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, accusing them of facilitating illegal transactions through Samourai.

The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that Samourai’s creators allowed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions through the platform, collecting more than $4.5 million in fees since 2015. The platform was marketed as a tool for censorship resistance and facilitating illicit activities.

Following the arrest of Rodriguez and Hill, the FBI issued a warning to users about unregistered crypto firms believed to be money services businesses. This crackdown reflects a broader pattern of U.S. authorities targeting wallets and mixers involved in questionable activities.

The indictments have sparked a reaction from the crypto community, with CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju defending Rodriguez and Hill, emphasizing the importance of privacy protection in Bitcoin transactions. Ju compared the situation to punishing the inventor of a knife instead of the one who misuses it, highlighting that the intent behind using a tool determines its legality.

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