Bitcoin Mining Pool F2pool Acknowledges OFAC Transaction Censorship; Backpedals After Community Backlash

F2Pool, a Bitcoin mining pool, has admitted to filtering transactions coming from Bitcoin addresses flagged by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). After the concern was discovered by 0xB10C, a Bitcoin developer, F2pool co-founder Chun Wang acknowledged that his excavation was so applying this filter, announcing it would driblet the censorship until determination was statement successful the assemblage connected the issue.

F2pool Acknowledges Compliance With OFAC Sanctions

F2pool, 1 of the largest Bitcoin mining pools successful the world, acknowledged having been filtering transactions coming from addresses flagged by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Chun Wang, a co-founder of the pool, admitted applying a compliance filter for these transactions aft 0xB10C, a Bitcoin developer, published an nonfiction that examined antithetic transactions to find if they were intentionally filtered oregon if determination were different explanations for this behavior.

The investigation, which examined six antithetic transactions coming from OFAC-flagged addresses, pointed retired that the 4 transactions excluded by F2pool were apt filtered. Nonetheless, the 2 remaining transactions could person been excluded owed to different reasons. 0xB10C stated:

These 4 missing sanctioned transactions pb to the decision that F2pool is presently filtering transactions.

Wang Doubles Down, Backpedals Later

Wang answered a station made by 0xB10C successful X, explaining the reasons that led F2pool to use this OFAC transaction compliance filter. In a now-deleted post, Wang stated:

Why bash you consciousness amazed erstwhile I garbage to corroborate transactions for those criminals, dictators and terrorists? I person each close not to corroborate immoderate transactions from Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, don’t I? Meanwhile, CZ is selling his psyche for money. He deserves.

Furthermore, Wang pointed retired that a “censorship absorption system” had to beryllium designed to defy censorship from its protocol plan alternatively of depending connected each subordinate to determine not to censor. He explained that Bitcoin should larn astir the mistakes connected the net successful this regard.

This posture resulted successful backlash from the community, with respective X users explaining that the hashrate successful F2pool was not owned by the head of the pool, accusing Wang of imposing his values connected different people.

F2pool yet backpedaled (in different since-deleted post) connected the issue, announcing it would halt filtering these transactions. Wang declared:

Will disable the tx filtering spot for now, until the assemblage reaches a much broad statement connected this topic.

What bash you deliberation astir F2pool’s OFAC-compliant transaction filtering initiative? Tell america successful the comments conception below.