Tornado Cash Scores Partial Court Victory – TORN Token Soars

A U.S. court has lifted sanctions against Tornado Cash, a cryptomixer. This ruling may well be a first step toward a more innovative and favorable environment for crypto regulation.

In August 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) banned Tornado Cash, accusing the platform of facilitating the laundering of hundreds of millions of dollars by North Korea's Lazarus Group. The recent decision by the United States District Court to lift these sanctions marks a significant legal victory for Tornado Cash and has once again sparked discussion about the legitimacy of such sanctions.

Explosive rise of the TORN token

The market reacted immediately to the statement. The TORN token, Tornado Cash's native crypto token, rose more than 200 percent, reaching US$24.60 at the time of writing. While this is a substantial increase, it is still far below the record level of more than US$400 by February 2021.

Developer remains in captivity

Despite this legal victory, Alexey Pertsev, one of the developers of Tornado Cash, remains in prison for the time being. Dutch judges found him guilty of laundering $1.2 billion through the platform. He was sentenced to five years and four months in prison. During his trial, Pertsev argued that he cannot be held responsible for how others use the Tornado Cash protocol, even if for illegal purposes. This argument was rejected by the court.

The importance of cryptomixers

Cryptomixers, such as Tornado Cash, are used to disguise transactions by mixing deposited crypto coins and then sending them back to their intended addresses in small, random amounts. For many crypto-enthusiasts, these tools are essential to protect their privacy. At the same time, they raise controversy because they can also be used for illegal activities such as money laundering.

The U.S. court ruling may set a precedent in the debate over the role and regulation of cryptomixers, and be a step toward balancing privacy protection and law enforcement.