Blockchain Association supports Coin Center lawsuit against U.S. Treasury over Tornado Cash sanctions.

The Blockchain Association has submitted a legal document in support of think tank Coin Center in its ongoing lawsuit against the Treasury Department and its sanctions watchdog, the Office of Foreign Asset Control. The lawsuit, filed in October, claims that the Treasury Department’s sanctions against crypto mixer Tornado Cash have harmed Americans and their ability to make private transactions using the Ethereum network. The Blockchain Association CEO, Kristin Smith, stated that punishing Tornado Cash for being a tool that can be used by bad actors contrary to the values of the country. The suit is the second filed by the advocacy group against the Treasury Department and its Tornado Cash sanctions. In August, OFAC sanctioned Tornado Cash, alleging that North Korean hackers had laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto through the mixer since its launch. The crypto industry has opposed the move, arguing that OFAC does not typically sanction software and that Tornado Cash has no central operator. The lawsuit claims that there are legitimate uses for privacy-enhancing tools like Tornado Cash and that OFAC’s sanctions expose individuals’ entire transaction history to anyone looking at network data. The suit seeks judicial relief to allow plaintiffs to conduct legitimate activities with anonymity, use their preferred software tool without fear of penalties, and engage in important expressive associations.

Edited by Nick Baker.