Investors Sue Treasury Department for Blacklisting Tornado Cash

That makes it a useful tool for criminals. This year, a North Korean-backed hacking group used Tornado Cash to launder more than $455 million, according to the Treasury Department. In total, the department has said, the service has helped criminals launder $7 billion in virtual currency.

Crypto supporters argue that mixers are a neutral tool, often used by those who simply want to protect their privacy. One plaintiff in the lawsuit is a crypto investor who used Tornado Cash to send funds to support the Ukrainian war effort, hoping to preserve his anonymity and avoid retaliation from the Russian government.

Unlike some other crypto privacy services, Tornado Cash is not a traditional company run by a team of executives. It is a set of “smart contracts” — pieces of code that operate independently of any entity.

That distinction is at the heart of the plaintiffs’ legal argument: They contend that the Treasury Department lacks the authority to restrict access to a software program.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/business/tornado-cash-treasury-sued.html