A group of anonymous developers announced a hard fork of the Samourai Wallet code, releasing the first version of a mobile wallet under the new “Ashigaru Open Source Project.”
Devs will develop, release, and maintain free and open-source software ensuring user security, protection from counterparty risk, and privacy, fully maximizing censorship resistance.
Open source code
The developers of Ashigaru shared that the project makes extensive use of code from the public domain and other cryptocurrency projects.
The project’s website also mentions that Ashigaru uses CoinJoin and other mechanisms to shield users from analytical heuristics and tracking.
“We believe anyone should be able to engage in peaceful, voluntary, and private commerce on the internet without tracking, surveillance, or censorship.”
Arrest of Samourai Wallet founders
The Ashigaru project comes after the April arrest of Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill, the founders of Samourai Wallet.
The two were charged with money laundering by the United States DOJ, which alleged that they executed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions and facilitated more than $100 million in money laundering transactions.
Rodriguez and Hill face a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
Being watched isn’t up to you
The FBI seized Samourai Wallet’s website and servers, and law enforcement officials forced app stores to remove the Samourai Wallet application.
Rodriguez later pleaded not guilty and was released on a $1 million bail-bond agreement, but he must remain within certain geographic boundaries until the conclusion of his case.
Now the Ashigaru project wants to fill the void left by the Samourai Wallet’s absence and provide a similar privacy-focused solution for Bitcoin users.
But chances are high Ashigaru will face similar legal challenges, because no one knows if its open-source nature will provide some protection against the government.
