- US court ends Coin Center’s Tornado Cash appeal after OFAC lifts sanctions on the crypto mixer.
- Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm is still facing trial in New York for federal criminal charges.
- TORN token price spiked as the legal battle ended, but regulatory scrutiny of mixers continues.
The U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, has dismissed an appeal filed by crypto policy organization Coin Center challenging the U.S. Treasury Department. The case focused on sanctions against Tornado Cash, a popular Ethereum-based coin mixing service, imposed in 2022 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury.
According to court records, the Eleventh Circuit, on July 4, granted a motion to vacate the lower court ruling and remand with an instruction to dismiss, filed jointly. According to Bloomberg Law, the U.S. Treasury and Coin Center, a crypto policy group based in Washington, D.C., filed a motion concluding that the case had become moot.
The settlement was after the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury lifted its 2022 sanctions on the Ethereum-based mixer in March. Days before the trial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, this development signifies the conclusion of a two-year legal battle.
Peter Van Valkenburgh, the executive director of Coin Center, made a statement via X, saying, “This is the official end to our court battle over the statutory authority behind the [Tornado Cash] sanctions.” He also noted that the government had decided not to defend its broad interpretation of sanctions laws in court.
Background and Legal Proceedings Surrounding Tornado Cash
Tornado Cash was initially sanctioned by the OFAC in 2022 on the allegation that it was used by the Lazarus Group, a North Korean-based hacking association, to launder billions in illegal payments. Coin Center responded by filing a lawsuit arguing the Treasury Department had acted outside its statutory authority. Other lawsuits, like one by a Tornado Cash user, which Coinbase backed, also challenged the sanctions.
A U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas ordered the repeal of the sanctions earlier this year. In March, the Treasury Department lifted sanctions against Tornado Cash, stating that the case was “moot” and did not require a final order anymore. Furthermore, this decision accompanies a shift in regulatory mood and ongoing debates between financial privacy and national security.
After the dismissal, the token of Tornado Cash (TORN) rallied to over $10 before dropping to $9.47. The news triggered a 154% spike in trading volume. TORN had increased by more than 180% in March when sanctions were first lifted.
Also Read | Coinbase CLO Criticizes the US Treasury for Over Tornado Cash Sanctions
Roman Storm and Ongoing Legal Challenges
Moreover, Coin Center and OFAC have resolved the regulatory battle, while the case against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm is still ongoing. Storm is to appear before a New York federal court next week. He will face charges of conspiracy to launder money, violating U.S. sanctions, and transferring criminal proceeds by utilizing Tornado Cash. If all the charges find him guilty, he could face a sentence of up to 45 years in jail.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands found one co-founder, Alexey Pertsev, guilty of money laundering and sentenced him to 64 months in prison. The other co-developer, Roman Semenov, is on the run.
The end of the Coin Center legal challenge is more of a milestone in the development of the interaction of cryptocurrency regulation, privacy rights, and the priorities of American government bodies regarding enforcement.
Also Read | Tornado Cash Co-Founder Hit with DOJ Charges in Crypto Crackdown
