The U.S. Treasury Department has removed sanctions against notorious cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash.
The Ethereum-based cryptocurrency mixer was initially added to the sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) back in August 2022. It was accused of helping North Korean hackers and other bad actors launder billions of dollars worth of ill-gotten crypto.
The cryptocurrency industry has rallied behind Tornado Cash, accusing the U.S. Treasury of overstepping its authority. Coinbase, the leading U.S. exchange, funded a lawsuit against the Treasury filed by several users of the controversial mixer.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ended up ruling against the Treasury in late 2024. A Texas-based federal court also ended up siding with the Tornado Cash users in January.
In its most recent statement, the Treasury stressed that it remains "concerned" about state-sponsored hacking and money laundering.
At the same time, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stated that digital assets present "enormous" opportunities for the American people.
"No one wants to see bad folks use crypto. But privacy is an important feature for many law-abiding citizens, and you can’t sanction open-source code (it’s a free speech issue). Glad to see this get fixed," Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin