Cryptocurrency platform Tornado Cash has been placed on the US Treasury Department’s blacklist known as SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list, operated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), for allegedly being responsible for laundering billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies.
On Monday, OFAC announced the decision, which means US residents are prohibited from using the Tornado Cash site and the 44 USD Coin (USDC) and Ether (ETH) addresses that have been added to the SDN list.
Normally, OFAC’s list deals with sanctioning and barring from the US financial system persons for their involvement in terrorism, crimes like drug trafficking, or countries designated as enemy states.
But while announcing the inclusion of Tornado Cash and the 40+ addresses on the list, US officials would not comment when asked if they thought Tornado Cash was linked with a foreign government, nor is the Treasury’s move targeting an individual or persons behind the site or the addresses.
Instead, OFAC alleges that money taken by North Korean hackers Lazarus Group and during the Harmony Horizon Bridge hack has been laundered using Tornado Cash. And the target of sanctions is a piece of software....
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