Tornado Cash is no longer sanctioned by the United States Treasury

The United States has raised the sanctions to 90 directions from Ethereum, but a key developer is still designated and faces criminal charges.

The US Treasury has raised sanctions to the tornado cash blender and multiple cryptography addresses, according to a March 21 update.

The change eliminates 90 Ethereum addresses from the list of specially designated nationals from the Office of Foreign Assets (OFAC).

The Treasury wrote that the decision is based on a review of legal issues and policies explained in its Monday presentation in Van Loon v. Treasury Department.

In December, the Federal Court of Appeals responsible for the case ruled that The underlying intelligent contracts of Tornado Cash are not property or controlled by any individual or entity and, therefore, are not property. As such, Ofac exceeded his authority on property as defined in the International Law of Emergency Economic Powers (IEEPA).

However, that decision did not immediately be lifted by the sanctions, and the last Treasury statement indicates that he raised the sanctions to his discretion.

When the treasure sanctioned Tornado’s cash in August 2022, he justified the action citing the use of the platform in cryptography washing, even in North Korean groups.

The Treasury and Ofac wrote in their last press release that “they remain deeply concerned” about money laundering activities sponsored by North Korea and money laundering of digital currency. US agencies say they intend to continue monitoring transactions and applying sanctions against North Korea.

The Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Besent, said that digital assets “present enormous opportunities for innovation and the creation of value for the American people,” but said that protecting the digital asset industry from abuse is essential for this objective.

Tornado Cash’s Token (torn) saw an increase in its price significantly together with the elimination of sanctions, increasing from a minimum of $ 7.75 to a maximum of $ 15.04 on March 21.

The Treasury and the OFAC continue to impose sanctions on the cash developer of the Roman Semenov Tornado and several of its cryptocurrency addresses.

The United States is also chasing criminal charges against developers. Semenov faced criminal charges advanced by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in August 2023 But I was released at that time. The DOJ simultaneously charged the co-developer of Tornado Cash Roman Storm, whose trial will begin on April 14, 2025.

Storm and Semenov each face a maximum of 45 years in prison for several positions related to the operation and misuse of cash.

Another tornado cash developer, Alexey Pertsev, was sentenced in the Netherlands and sentenced to 64 months in prison in May 2024. He received a Early launch this February with the condition that it is electronically monitored.