Bitcoin privacy developer and early contributor Amir Taaki said he was questioned for hours by Singaporean police about his work before being deported from the country. The British-Iranian programmer described the incident as part of a pattern of detentions, questioning and deportations that he says has affected him in several countries.
According to Bitcoin Magazine, Taaki wrote on X that Singaporean authorities questioned him before removing him from the country. He said officials asked about “what I work on,” but did not provide an explanation for the deportation.
Taaki said he had also been deported from Argentina and Mexico during the past year, while being detained in Serbia and Japan. He said authorities repeatedly characterized the encounters as “random checks” when he asked why he had been stopped or questioned.
The developer also claimed that he is “on a list,” but said he has been unable to determine which country may have sanctioned him. In his posts, Taaki accused authorities of using indirect tactics against him and referred to allegations of money laundering involving his associates. The source material does not report that he was charged with an offense in Singapore.
Who is Amir Taaki?
Taaki is known for his early work in Bitcoin’s development and for his focus on financial privacy. He was among Bitcoin’s first contributors and wrote early implementations of CoinJoin and stealth addresses, technologies associated with improving transaction privacy.
He also created libbitcoin, founded the United Kingdom’s first Bitcoin exchange and authored BIP 0001. The Bitcoin Improvement Proposal process established by BIP 0001 provides a way for proposed changes and standards in the Bitcoin ecosystem to be documented and discussed.
Taaki now works on DarkFi, a crypto privacy protocol. His privacy-focused background and earlier involvement in Bitcoin Core have made him a prominent figure in the cypherpunk and crypto-anarchist communities.
Earlier scrutiny and Syria involvement
Taaki previously attracted attention from British authorities after traveling to Syria in 2016 to fight against the Islamic State group. In a 2017 BBC interview, he said he spent three and a half months fighting with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units before working on community projects in the country.
The developer has said that his involvement in Syria contributed to subsequent difficulties with authorities in certain countries. His latest account places Singapore alongside Argentina, Mexico, Serbia and Japan in a series of encounters he says involved deportation or detention.
The source material does not include a statement from Singaporean authorities or details of any formal immigration or criminal proceedings connected with the reported deportation.
Market picture
Moneyiar market data at 10:49 a.m. on October 7, 2026, showed Bitcoin at $83,692.61, down 2.88% over 24 hours and 0.21% over seven days. Ethereum stood at $2,576.63, down 5.12% in 24 hours and 4.31% over seven days.
Among the other assets tracked by Moneyiar, Meteora was at $0.3122, up 0.75% over 24 hours but down 3.46% over seven days. Aethir was priced at $0.006669, down 9.66% over 24 hours and up 10.43% over seven days. These market movements are separate from the reported immigration action involving Taaki.
