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Tornado Cash crypto mixing ban overview:
- Who: Crypto mixing service Tornado Cash has been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department and the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
- Why: The Treasury Department says North Korean hackers used the mixing service to help launder crypto funds stolen earlier this year in a cyberattack on Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network.
- Where: Tornado Cash is a crypto mixing service used by consumers nationwide.
The U.S. Treasury Department barred Americans from using the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash after the agency says it was used by North Korean hackers to launder stolen funds.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also blacklisted Tornado Cash, prohibiting U.S. persons or entities from interacting with the crypto mixer or any Ethereum wallets connected to it, CoinDesk reports.
The crypto mixer reportedly joins a blacklist known as the Specially Designated Nationals list, which contains blacklisted cryptocurrency addresses, people and entities.
Individuals who continue to use the service for crypto mixing may face criminal penalties, CoinDesk reports.
“Despite public assurances otherwise, Tornado Cash has repeatedly failed to impose effective controls designed to stop it from laundering funds for malicious cyber actors on a regular basis and without basic measures to address its risks,” the Treasury Department says on its website.
Tornado Cash allegedly used by Lazarus Group to launder stolen crypto funds
The Treasury Department claims Tornado Cash is a vital tool for the Lazarus Group, the North Korean hacking group connected to a $625 million hack of Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network in March.
Analysis of the blockchain revealed that tens of millions of dollars of cryptocurrency stolen from Ronin had been funneled through the mixing service to obscure where the funds originated, CoinDesk reports.
The OFAC previously sanctioned a separate crypto mixing service, Blender.io, after the Treasury Department alleged it was used to help launder crypto funds stolen in cyber attacks, including around $20.5 million from Ronin.
“Treasury will continue to aggressively pursue actions against mixers that launder virtual currency for criminals and those who assist them,” the department says.
In related news, millions of dollars in cryptocurrency were stolen earlier this month from digital crypto wallets hosted on the Solana network as the result of a cyberattack.
Have you ever used Tornado Cash for crypto mixing? Let us know in the comments!
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