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‘Enforcement 40’ for 2020
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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedInCoinbase-backed suit against Treasury set to become landmark blockchain case
Can the U.S. government sanction computer code? That simple yet complex question is at the heart of a burgeoning legal fight backed by one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The answer will likely have major implications for the government’s power to control the functions of digital assets. *** “The power that’s delegated to OFAC […]
US Treasury Explains How Americans Can Recover Crypto Locked in Tornado Cash
U.S. residents and citizens can apply for a license to recover any funds they have that are locked in Tornado Cash, the Treasury Department said Tuesday. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), its sanctions watchdog, updated its “frequently asked questions” (FAQs) document Tuesday to provide guidance for the crypto industry on […]
Coinbase bankrolls suit against Treasury Department following Tornado Cash sanctions
Coinbase is footing the bill for a lawsuit filed against the Treasury Department Thursday by users of the recently sanctioned crypto service, Tornado Cash. The six plaintiffs include Coinbase employees and other users of the mixing service that was blacklisted by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in August. Mixing services like Tornado […]
Tornado Cash Was the Key Laundering Tool for NFT Scams, Elliptic Says – Bloomberg
Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer that was recently slapped with US sanctions, was the preferred tool for laundering illicit proceeds from nonfungible token scams prior to the ban, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic Enterprises. The mixer “was the source of $137.6 million of cryptoassets processed by NFT marketplaces and the laundering tool of choice […]
Tether, a top crypto company, defies U.S. sanctions on service that hid stolen assets – The Washington Post
One crypto company that has attracted scrutiny from U.S. regulators and law enforcement in the past, Tether, may be in violation of Treasury’s new rules. According to a Washington Post analysis of data from Dune Analytics, a crypto intelligence firm, Tether is not blacklisting accounts associated with Tornado Cash. So far, the U.S. government has […]
US Treasury’s Tornado Cash Sanctions Are ‘Unprecedented’, Warns Congressman
The U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctioning of the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency mixer was an unprecedented move threatening privacy and innovation, according to one U.S. member of Congress. And he thinks Congress should start asking questions. On CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” program Thursday, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) lays out his concerns with the Treasury Department’s Office of […]
Joe Weisenthal on Tornado Cash: Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day – Bloomberg
Take away the uncensorability of crypto, and all you’re left with is Ponzi schemes, dog coins, and drawings of monkeys. (Wait! That’s basically all that exists right now in the space, so ignore that thought.) Anyway, by sanctioning a piece of software and some addresses associated with it, it may show that uncensorability is just […]
Tornado Cash’s Sanctions Show Shift in Crypto Regulatory Focus – WSJ
The U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to crack down on cryptocurrency platform Tornado Cash for allegedly being used to launder stolen funds—and the subsequent freezing of millions of dollars in assets by one of the largest U.S. stablecoins in compliance with the order—has prompted concerns of excessive government pressure from many crypto participants, particularly those in […]
As Government Takes on the Tornado Mixer, It May Reap a Whirlwind
… Monday, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed a decentralized privacy service called Tornado Cash on its Specially Designated Nationals list. This makes interacting with the service illegal for U.S. nationals and entities. But the impact and even intent seem even broader than that: Tornado Cash developer Roman Semenov claimed Tuesday his […]