What is tornado cash?

“Today, Treasury is sanctioning Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer that launders the proceeds of cybercrimes, including those committed against victims in the United States,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.

Can the Treasury block tornado cash?

Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg A group of cryptocurrency investors sued the Treasury Department on Thursday to block government sanctions that bar Americans from Tornado Cash, a popular crypto platform that criminals have used to launder virtual currencies.

What happened to tornado cash & Blender?

This post is about: Tornado Cash. On August 8, 2022 the US Treasury Department sanctioned Tornado Cash and Blender. This action was taken to hamstring the Lazarus Group, a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korean) state-sponsored hacking group that stole $540MM from Axie Infinity’s Ronin bridge.

Why was tornado cash banned?

Tornado Cash was banned last month to prevent hacking, money-laundering and other cryptocurrency crimes. A cryptocurrency “mixer” like Tornado Cash combines streams of funds to obscure where the money originated. Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg