US Treasury Department imposes sanctions on Tornado Cash

US Treasury Department imposes sanctions on Tornado Cash The US Treasury Department has added Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service that has been used to launder more than $7 billion in cryptocurrency since its founding, to its sanctions list. The ministry alleged that Tornado Cash helps hackers launder the proceeds of cybercrime. The statement noted that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer that has been used to launder more than $7 billion in cryptocurrency since its founding in 2019, to its sanctions list. The statement reported that Tornado Cash’s assets in the US will be frozen and Americans will be prevented from transacting with it, while it was stated that the North Korean-backed hacker group Lazarus Group also laundered at least $455 million through Tornado Cash. The statement emphasized that cryptocurrency mixers that assist criminals pose a threat to the national security of the United States, and that the use of mixers for illicit purposes will continue to be investigated and that the Treasury Department will use its authority to respond to illicit financing risks in the virtual currency ecosystem. Tornado Cash provides transaction privacy by severing the on-chain connection between source and destination addresses in Ethereum. Mixers like Tornado Cash are often used by illicit actors to launder money.