Wallet of Satoshi blocked custodial service in the entire EU

Seit Anfang des Jahres (2026) blockiert die beliebte Bitcoin-Lightning Wallet "Wallet of Satoshi" den custodial-Service in der gesamten EU.

Man kann nur noch Beträge senden, aber keine mehr empfangen und die Wallet drängt einen den self-custody Mode zu aktivieren.

Grund dürfte die zunehmende Regulierung in der EU sein (MiCA & Co.), die es FinTech-Anbietern immer schwerer macht, in der EU aktiv zu sein.

Die EU möchte leider auch self-custody Wallets immer mehr einschränken.

Wallet of Satoshi arbeitet jetzt mit lightspark (spark) zusammen, ein second layer lightning Anbieter, der ein self-custody Service betreibt.

Auch im self-custody Mode kann man Lightning-Transaktionen ohne Channel-Management betreiben, muss die Funds aber auf spark transferieren. Man hat eine gewissen Self-Custody auf der Sidechain, aber nicht die volle Kontrolle über die Channels. Auch die Fees sollen auf spark etwas höher sein. Ist wie immer ein Trade-off.

Über VPN ließe sich die Restriktion übrigens in der Wallet of Satoshi umgehen.

Was sagt ihr dazu? Warum wird es in der EU immer schwieriger FinTech-Anwendungen zu implementieren?

Wallet of Satoshi Custodial Lightning Service: "No longer available in your region" (European Union)

Wallet of Satoshi Blocks Custodial Services Across EU

https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/01/02/wallet-of-satoshi-blocks-custodial-services-across-eu/

Wallet of Satoshi x Spark — Self-Custody, Simplified

https://support.walletofsatoshi.com/support/discussions/topics/36000036486

Lightspark

https://www.lightspark.com/news/lightspark/introducing-spark

English

Since the beginning of the year (2026), the popular Bitcoin Lightning wallet “Wallet of Satoshi” has blocked its custodial service throughout the entire European Union.

Users can now only send funds, but can no longer receive them, and the wallet urges them to activate self-custody mode.

The reason is likely the increasing regulation in the EU (MiCA & Co.), which is making it increasingly difficult for FinTech providers to operate in the EU.

Unfortunately, the EU also wants to increasingly restrict self-custody wallets.

Wallet of Satoshi is now partnering with lightspark (spark), a second-layer Lightning provider that operates a self-custody service.

Even in self-custody mode, you can perform Lightning transactions without channel management, but you must transfer the funds to spark. You have a certain degree of self-custody on the sidechain, but not full control over the channels. The fees are also reportedly slightly higher on spark. As always, it’s a trade-off.

By the way, you could bypass this restriction in the Wallet of Satoshi by using a VPN.

What do you think? Why is it becoming increasingly difficult to implement and run FinTech applications in the EU?