Metamask Wallets Are Not Decentralized Wallets?

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Like the old saying in cryptocurrency if its not your keys it is not your crypto. This quote stems from experience of crypto users having to either lose their crypto funds through lock ups or unable to access. According to some twitter posts about a couple of days ago it happened to one of the most popular wallets currently in use. Some Venezuelans were locked out of their Metamask wallets for a short period of time and users were twitting of their frustrations.

The Complaints on Metamask

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Posts across the internet started with proof that Metamask was inaccessible to them. This lead to a fire storm of users demanding to know why Metamask was locking out users and why this was intentionally done?

Infura the team that created Metamask and creates updates of the wallet in very short order came out with a statement:

"[i]n response to the concerns we have been hearing, we want everyone to know that we corrected the problem that so many of you have pointed out."

Everyone in Venezuela was able to get back access to their Metamask wallets before the weekend but damage was already done. Some users were fearful that Metamask could potentially lock them out of their funds.

What Happened?

Infura pointed out they needed to comply with the latest USA government's and other jurisdictions in sanctioning Russia from accesses their cryptocurrency. Yet Infura "accidentally" locked out more users than they had wanted.

MetaMask relies on Infura as the default endpoint, but this setting can be modified by users if desired, or in case of any service interruptions. We sincerely apologize for the interruption to those in inadvertently impacted regions. https://t.co/kUxOr7zBe3

Conclusions

This news should be concerning to Metamask users. Government sanctions are effecting the way cryptocurrency wallets operate.

This goes beyond why Infura could lock up wallets but the fact that the governments have the power to enforce such acts is very worrisome. For all the countless hours we crypto investors spent trying to earn some crypto to making sure they are safe in our wallets, and come to find that the government at the snap of a finger can essentially lock us out of the funds is beyond surprising.

The chance that anyone can lock up someone else wallets basically to me means the wallets are not our own. The metamask wallets are not decentralized as I had first imagine. If Infura can lay down for the governments even if by "accident" what is not to say it can happen again?

None of what I write is financial advice. It is for entertainment purposes only. Thanks for reading!



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13 comments
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So are the underlying assets under Infura's control? I am not sure if changing the default end point would change the assets you have in your wallet either

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(Edited)

The tokens are on the chain. The wallet keeps track of the keys of who owns those tokens and can I pot signature to withdraw/deposit the tokens. I am trying to find a fully decentralized wallet. Even using a ledger over a metamask wallet doesn’t solve the problem. It is something I myself had overlooked.

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This is definitely concerning. thank you for bringing this to light. !PIZZA !hivebits

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(Edited)

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Indeed this makes Ethereum centralized in the sense that it can only be accessed via a couple of centralized service providers that will shut down whoever the government asks them to... !1UP

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