Arkham

Tornado Cash

Tornado

<p class="is-style-lead">Tornado Cash, a leading cryptocurrency mixer on the Ethereum network, has shown remarkable resilience despite facing sanctions from the U.S. Treasury in August 2022.</p> 
<p>In an Oct. 10 X thread, Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham revealed that a staggering $77.35 million in assets have moved through Tornado Cash’s contracts on the Ethereum (<a href="https://crypto.news/price/ethereum/" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/price/ethereum/">ETH</a>) mainnet over the past 30 days.</p> 
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   <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tornado Cash is still the largest crypto mixer on Ethereum, even after the August 2022 US Treasury sanctions.<br><br>$77.35M in assets flowed through its contracts on ETH Mainnet in the past 30 days. <a href="https://t.co/dBpxmN1gqb" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/dBpxmN1gqb</a></p>— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArkhamIntel/status/1711456563817570750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">October 9, 2023</a>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="tornado-cash-operates-despite-sanctions">Tornado Cash operates despite sanctions</h2> 
<p>The crypto mixer, which operates on seven different blockchain networks, has carved a niche by enabling users to obscure transfers of ten different cryptocurrencies. Native ETH on the Ethereum mainnet has emerged as the most popular asset for mixing.</p> 
<p>In July 2021, Tornado Cash peaked, overseeing over $700 million worth of ETH in its pool contracts. However, the platform faced considerable challenges following the imposition of U.S. sanctions, experiencing a sharp 60% decline in assets and a marked reduction in transfer volume.</p> 
<p> You might also like: <a href="https://crypto.news/tornado-cash-case-crypto-anonymity-vs-regulation/"> Tornado Cash case: crypto anonymity vs regulation </a> </p> 
<p>Importantly, this decline proved to be short-lived, as the platform’s total value locked (TVL) and transfer volume began to recover, even in the face of the arrest of two out of the three Tornado founders.</p> 
<p>Currently, the platform’s TVL is approximately 118.3K ETH, which equates to around $187.9 million, based on data from Arkham.</p> 
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="hackers-keep-employing-tornado-cash-to-launder-funds">Hackers keep employing Tornado Cash to launder funds</h2> 
<p>As <a href="https://crypto.news/u-s-treasury-bans-tornado-cash-citing-links-to-lazarus-hacking-group/">reported </a>by crypto.news, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash, alleging that the cryptocurrency mixing service facilitated the laundering of funds connected to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.</p> 
<p>While Tornado Cash positions itself as a financial privacy tool, the Treasury contends that it enabled illegal transactions, including the laundering of $445 million pilfered by the Lazarus Group.</p> 
<p>Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, the developers behind Tornado Cash, were <a href="https://crypto.news/tornado-cash-developers-charged-with-money-laundering-in-us/">indicted </a>for their role in laundering over $1 billion, with Storm subsequently being arrested.</p> 
<p>Previously, a <a href="https://crypto.news/us-treasury-challenged-over-tornado-cash-sanctions/">lawsuit</a> <a href="https://crypto.news/coinbase-supports-legal-challenge-to-us-tornado-cash-ban/">supported </a>by Coinbase aimed to reverse the U.S. Treasury Department’s ban on Tornado Cash, arguing that it violated free speech rights because the platform is open-source software.</p> 
<p>However, the court <a href="https://crypto.news/judge-favors-treasury-in-coinbase-backed-lawsuit-over-tornado-cash-sanctions/">ruled in favor</a> of the United States Department of the Treasury.</p> 
<p>The sanctions against Tornado Cash highlight the complexities involved in regulating decentralized services. The platform’s open-source nature means developers can easily create similar services, making it challenging for authorities to shut it down entirely.</p> 
<p> Read more: <a href="https://crypto.news/tornado-cash-creators-deny-laundering-1b-for-north-korea-hackers/"> Tornado Cash creators deny laundering $1b for North Korea hackers </a> </p>

Crypto mixer Tornado Cash handled over $77m in past 30 days

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