The US Department of Homeland Security has served payments start-up Dwolla with a court order telling it to stop processing transactions linked to bitcoin exchange MT. Gox.
In an e-mail to users - shared on sites including Twitter and Reddit - Dwolla says that the court orders mean it "is no longer legally able to service" MT. Gox's account.
The move cuts off a popular way for American bitcoin users to move their funds in and out of Japan-based MT Gox, which recently saw its planned partnership with US counterpart CoinLab fall apart.
In its e-mail to customers, Dwolla says it is "not party to this matter nor does it have any information or further insight into the situation." The firm points disgruntled users to MT. Gox but in a statement on its site, the exchange reveals that it only learned about the issue through the Internet.
"Mt. Gox takes this information seriously. However, as of this time Mt. Gox has not been provided with a copy of the court order and/or warrant and does not know its scope and/or the reasons for its issuance. MtGox is investigating and will provide further reports when additional information becomes known."