OFAC

New study from the New York Federal Reserve shows Tornado Cash is still a “viable” privacy tool despite government sanctions

Europol said authorities have frozen over 200 crypto accounts linked to LockBit

Tether has changed its mind about complying with US sanctions laws, and it says its doing so “voluntarily”

“Iran Unchained” launched a new version of its grant platform to make donations to activists easier

As of Wednesday, the US government had seized Sinbad’s website

Blockworks spoke with Matt Cutler, CEO of Blocknative — which exited the Ethereum relayer space last week — about the relayer puzzle and its implications for Ethereum

Two founders are charged with money laundering a week after a judge opted to back up sanctions against Tornado Cash

The inclusion of Roman Semenov on the sanctions list marks an escalation of the US government’s previous investigations into the crypto mixer

The court’s decision follows opposition by the US Department of Justice, which argued that Bittrex’s request for withdrawals was premature

OFAC found that while Poloniex did not voluntarily disclose its apparent violations of sanctions programs, the infractions were not considered to be especially severe or harmful

The motion seeks to reopen Tornado Cash for all US-based citizens in a bid to regain what the plaintiffs, including Coinbase, are calling violations of their Constitutional rights

The crypto mixer, created in 2017, may have facilitated the laundering of 152,000 BTC, according to Europol

Recent turmoil in the crypto market has accelerated the need for tougher crypto regulation, according to US think tank analysts

“Anyone considering interacting with the Tornado Cash wallets should first call a lawyer, and be prepared to hear no,” a partner at law firm Morrison Cohen said

Tornado Cash’s inflows fell 68% in the 30 days after sanctions, while average monthly inflows into Russia-based Garantex following its sanctioned designation more than doubled

Tornado Cash can be sanctioned since it’s an entity defined as “a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization,” the Treasury said.

“For Sam to suggest that the industry ‘should respect OFAC’ is unbecoming,” ShapeShift co-founder Erik Voorhees said

The Treasury exceeded its regulatory authority as Tornado Cash is a “privacy tool beyond the control of anyone,” Coin Center said

The exchange allowed users in the Crimea region of Ukraine, as well as Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria to trade cryptoassets despite these being subject to US sanctions

Blockchain development agency Labrys said Ethereum censorship has grown “unchecked” since the Merge, but core developers disagree

OFAC also addressed “dust attacks,” or instances where a very small amount of cryptocurrency that touched Tornado Cash results in blocked wallets or accounts, in Tuesday’s clarifications

Sanctioning Tornado Cash has only increased mixing activity on other platforms, industry members said

Stablecoin issuer calls the move by USDC to blacklist Tornado Cash smart contracts “premature”

Rep. Tom Emmer has urged Janet Yellen’s Treasury office to expand on its Tornado Cash sanctions, saying “expectation of privacy is normal”