U.S. Treasury Announces Lifting of Sanctions on Tornado Cash
The U.S. Treasury has stated that it will lift the sanctions imposed in 2022 on the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, which was previously used by North Korean hackers for money laundering. Following the announcement, TORN surged from $7.57 to $15.2, nearly doubling in value, before retreating to $11.75 by press time.
Tornado Cash and Lead Developer Alexey Pertsev
Tornado Cash is a decentralized mixing platform based on the Ethereum blockchain, providing users with services to obfuscate the source and destination of their cryptocurrency transactions. This functionality, which involves concealing cash flows, soon attracted the attention of U.S. authorities.
In August 2022, the platform was added to the sanctions list by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), accused of assisting North Korean hacker group Lazarus in laundering over $455 million in illegal funds.
In August 2023, the platform’s lead developer, Alexey Pertsev, was arrested and, in May of last year, was sentenced by a Dutch court to 64 months in prison for assisting in the laundering of $1.2 billion. Pertsev was released in February, concluding a year and a half of imprisonment, and is now under house arrest awaiting legal appeal.
TORN Surges Nearly Twofold, Treasury Secretary Remarks: Digital Assets Provide Financial Innovation
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Treasury announced that it will lift the sanctions imposed in 2022 on the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash. In a statement, the Treasury expressed ongoing concerns regarding North Korea’s use of digital assets for “state-sponsored hacking and money laundering activities,” and will continue to work to “expose and prevent” the misuse of digital assets for such purposes.
Treasury Secretary Yellen stated in the announcement: “Digital assets provide tremendous opportunities for innovation and value creation for the American people. Ensuring that the digital asset industry is protected from abuse by North Korea and other illicit actors is crucial to establishing U.S. leadership and ensuring that the American people can benefit from financial innovation and inclusivity.”
According to price data on CoinGecko, the cryptocurrency token TORN associated with Tornado Cash surged from $7.57 to $15.2 following the announcement, nearly doubling in value, before retreating to $11.75 by press time.
Risk Warning
Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a high level of risk, and prices can be highly volatile, potentially resulting in the loss of your entire principal. Please assess the risks carefully.