The U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions authority lifted its ban on Tornado Cash from its global blacklist on Friday.
This cryptocurrency mixing service had faced allegations of assisting North Korea’s Lazarus Group in laundering funds obtained through various hacks and thefts, leading to multiple sanctions by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. These sanctions prohibited any U.S. person or entity engaged in business within the U.S. from interacting with Tornado Cash financially. However, a federal appeals court determined last November that OFAC couldn’t sanction the smart contracts of Tornado Cash since they did not belong to any foreign individual.
A press release from the U.S. Treasury expressed continued concern over the extensive state-sponsored hacking and money laundering efforts aimed at hijacking, acquiring, and utilizing digital assets for North Korea and the Kim regime.
Roman Storm, a co-founder of Tornado Cash, is set to face a criminal trial in July regarding his alleged involvement in the development of the smart contracts and protocols associated with the service. Another developer has also been charged but remains unapprehended.
Following the Treasury’s announcement, the TORN token surged by 40% within minutes.