Tornado Cash Case: Appeals Court Says Treasury OFAC 'Overstepped' Authority In Sanctions Move

Outside the Netherlands, Tornado Cash is also under fire in the U.S. over the crypto mixer's alleged facilitation of Lazarus Group transactions. (Credit: Tornado Cash Website/Screenshot)

KEY POINTS

• Tornado Cash was sanctioned in August 2022 amid alleged use among threat actors, including Lazarus Group
• The crypto mixing service's co-founders have been charged by the DOJ with sanctions violations and money laundering
• Several crypto leaders hailed the win as a victory not just for Tornado Cash but for the crypto space as a whole

Tornado Cash just had a major legal victory after an Appeals Court called on the United States to drop sanctions against the crypto anonymizing tool, also adding that the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) committed an overreach of authority in the case.