The US Treasury Department has officially removed the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash from its sanctions list, as announced on March 21. This significant decision follows a January ruling by a US appeals court, which concluded that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) lacked the authority to sanction Tornado Cash’s smart contracts, as they are not owned by any foreign nationals.
This ruling emphasized that Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts, which enable privacy through sophisticated software code, do not constitute the ‘property’ of any individual or organization, thereby indicating that OFAC had overstepped its defined legislative authority.
In a recent statement, the Treasury highlighted that a number of smart contract addresses on the Ethereum blockchain network have been removed from its sanctions list. This move has led to notable market activity, with Tornado Cash’s native token, TORN, seeing an approximate 60% increase in value in the wake of the news, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
As of the announcement, TORN has achieved a market capitalization of about $73 million, with a fully diluted value approaching $140 million. The market responded positively, reflecting a growing confidence in the cryptocurrency’s utility and potential.
OFAC is tasked with administering economic and trade sanctions against foreign states and nationals, making this development an important victory for advocates of digital privacy and decentralization. The outcome not only raises questions about the future of regulatory practices concerning cryptocurrency mixers but also sets a precedent for how smart contracts are treated under US law.
Current market response shows TORN is up around 60%. Source: CoinMarketCap
This latest development in the realm of cryptocurrency indicates a potential shift in regulatory perspectives and could pave the way for broader discussions regarding privacy in blockchain technology.
