The US Ministry of Finance has the sanctions against Tornado Cash lifted. Tornado Cash is one Crypto mixerthe payments anonymized. Previously, the service had been accused of helping money from over $ 7 billion, including money, including money, North Korean hacker groups.
Tornado cash is a decentralized, non-custodial crypto mixer on the Ethereum blockchain. The service enables users to deposit cryptocurrencies and later withdraw to another address without a connection between the transactions. This increases the privacy of the users because the origin and recipient of the funds are veiled.
In August 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Ministry of Finance Tornado Cash put on the sanction list. The service was accused of having helped to undergo money from cybercrime, including over $ 455 million stolen by the North Korean hacker group Lazarus.
Six users of Tornado Cash, supported by the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, complained of the sanctions. In November 2024, a US Court of Appeal decided that the OFAC had exceeded its powers because the Smart Contracts from Tornado Cash are not considered property and therefore cannot be sanctioned. As a result of this judgment, the Ministry of Finance raised the sanctions on March 21, 2025.
The lifting of the sanctions is considered a victory for the crypto industry and the supporters of financial privacy. Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer from Coinbase, described the judgment as “historical victory for crypto and everyone who is committed to defending freedom”. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Finance remains concerned about the use of such services by cybercriminals, especially through state -funded hacker groups such as Lazarus. It emphasized the need to protect the digital asset industry from misuse in order to secure the US leadership role and enable the population to have financial innovation and participation.
The legal disputes about Tornado Cash also affect the developers of the service. One of the co -founders, Roman Storm, was charged in 2023 for helping money laundering and violating sanctions and is currently waiting for his process. Another developer, Alexey Pertsev, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison for money laundering in the Netherlands.