Major Dogecoin Wallet Shut Down Sparks Community Outrage

Dogechain, a major noncustodial wallet powering the Dogecoin (DOGE) ecosystem, is shutting down. Surprisingly, many members of the Doge army are not aware of a scenario that has pushed an X user and Dogecoin proponent to speak out.

Identified as Astro on X, the whistleblower wrote:

#Dogechain has been around for +10 years. All of a sudden, shutting down in less than 30 days. No one dares to openly say exactly why and most people have not figured it out yet.

While the Dogechain wallet has a strong legacy in the broader digital currency ecosystem, the regulatory terrain in the United States has forced many innovators to rethink their stance lately. Dogechain is not the first of the wallets to announce a shutdown. 

Legacy Bitcoin-privacy wallet Wasabi also revealed earlier this week that it is ceasing operations. The decisions appear to stem from fears emanating from the arrest and charges brought by Samourai Founders for money laundering. From Tornado Cash to Samourai, the tolerance of U.S. regulators for privacy-centered outfits remains low.

The Dogecoin community is currently frustrated as the exit of Dogechain implies the number of native DOGE-dedicated wallets has fallen.

Dogecoin influence not waning

Despite the current outlook on the market and regulatory consideration, the influence of Dogecoin is not fading. Dogecoin Founder Billy Markus remains one of the top market voices with takes on the current trend.

Dogecoin might be losing its grip with Dogechain’s closure, but the coin may gain full integration on Elon Musk’s payment app. Though speculative, this anticipation has triggered renewed optimism that the utility of the dog-themed meme coin will soar soon.

Dogechain’s exit is not negatively impacting the price of DOGE yet. It is up 0.7% in the past 24 hours to $0.1328, per data from CoinMarketCap. The coin’s trading volume is down 36% to $1,110,810,641.

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Godfrey Benjamin