Court upholds ban on Tornado Cash

The cryptomixer Tornado Cash has been banned in the US for a year. And it is likely to remain so. A court rejected a counter petition.

Should the U.S. Treasury Department have banned the cryptomixer Tornado Cash? The court thinks so. A motion of the opposing party is now rejected.

According to the court, Tornado Cash is "an entity that can be designated under OFAC regulations." Its inclusion on the list of sanctioned entities was lawful and "not clearly contrary to Treasury regulations."

The question was whether the Treasury Department had the authority to ban it and whether it violated freedom of speech.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal announced support in an appeal saying, "We continue to believe that the plaintiffs' challenge to the OFAC action is correct."

The cryptomixer Tornado Cash was launched in August 2022 declared illegal. The ban was intended to close loopholes in the money laundering process.

Several industry representatives have spoken out against the ban. They see the sanctioning of source code as an interference with freedom of expression.