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As the saying goes, “internet anonymity is a myth” and never has online privacy been more relevant than today. 
Even Bitcoin and Blockchain technology that were introduced for secure, private financial transactions could not guarantee 100% anonymity to their users, owing to their public ledger books and stringent regulations by governments. 
To address this concern and bridge the privacy gap, developers conceptualized a novel idea of developing an open source tumbler program that allowed withdrawals and deposits from a pooled crypto fund in order to completely shield the identities of both sender and receiver. 
Thus, Tornado Cash program was conceived with the idea of an open source decentralized program that runs on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) network, allowing breakage of direct link between sender and receiver. 
Soon after its inception in 2019, Tornado Cash came under <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2022/08/09/us-slaps-sanctions-on-virtual-currency-mixer-tornado-cash/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heavy criticism</a> for providing a safe haven for money laundering and eventually, US Department of The Treasury blacklisted the service in August 2022 making it illegal for residents of the US to use Tornado Cash. 
The US government claimed that the program has been used to launder more than $7 billion USD since its inception in 2019. 
In this article, we dwell upon the concept of Tornado Cash, how it works and what led to its sanctioning by the US government. 
<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-large-font-size" id="what-is-tornado-cash">What is Tornado Cash?</h2> 
The US Department of Treasury calls Tornado Cash as a “<a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0916" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">virtual currency</a> mixer” that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. 
“Tornado Cash indiscriminately facilitates anonymous transactions by obfuscating their origin, destination and counterparties, with no attempt to determine their origin,” read a statement from the US Department of The Treasury. 
However, to understand how Tornado Cash functions, we will try to simplify its definition and working mechanism. 
Tornado Cash is an open source, decentralized cryptocurrency tumbler that relies heavily on smart contracts deployed on blockchains. To match the deposits and withdrawals, Tornado Cash uses “zero-knowledge proof.” This allows one party to prove the legitimacy of the transaction without revealing more information besides what is required. .&nbsp; 
<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-large-font-size" id="tornado-cash-app-understanding-how-it-works">Tornado Cash App: Understanding How it Works</h2> 
The process of how the <a href="https://tornado.community/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tornado Cash</a> works is pretty simple. It starts with a cryptocurrency deposit using the smart contracts of the app. The user connects their crypto wallet to Tornado Cash to facilitate the transaction and mentions the amount they wish to deposit. Tornado Cash then generates a particular security key for the user and gives them a copy of it. The crypto fund deposited by the user is then put in a “shared pool” of crypto funds created by Tornado Cash and another user who has the associated security key linked with the transaction can easily withdraw the funds. Therefore, the program breaks any direct link between sender and receiver thereby ensuring complete anonymity as the address can be different and will not be associated with the deposit address. Using the zero-knowledge proof, the withdrawal can be proven valid without revealing more about the deposit information.&nbsp; 
US Sanctions 
The US Department of The Treasury has claimed that Tornado Cash service has been used to launder virtual money and also facilitate other illicit activities. They have alleged that funds worth above $7 billion have been laundered using the Tornado Cash program. On August 8, 2022, the tumbler service was banned in the US and all financial services associated with it have been banned. 
“Despite public assurances otherwise, Tornado Cash has repeatedly failed to impose effective controls designed to stop it from laundering funds for malicious cyber actors on a regular basis and without basic measures to address its risks,” said Brian E Nelson, Under Secretary for the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. 
Security measures while using&nbsp; Tornado Cash 
There are some security measures users can apply to ensure complete anonymity while using Tornado Cash. 
Timing of Withdrawals 
To ensure that transactions are not easily tracked, make sure to strategically time the withdrawals. Do another withdrawal once additional deposits are made. This will make it difficult to link the transactions made.&nbsp; 
Use Different Addresses 
For deposits and withdrawal transactions, make sure to use different addresses. This will reduce the risk of creating traceable patterns.&nbsp; 
Make Multiple Deposits 
If depositing a large amount, it is best to fragment them into smaller quantities. Making multiple deposits is a smart strategy that increases the user’s anonymity.&nbsp; 
Use Strong Sets 
Users need to learn how to blend into the crowd through pools. Choose ones with higher deposits because in this case, each transaction is more difficult to distinguish. 
Conclusion&nbsp; 
Despite sanctions by the US, Tornado Cash continues to be in news as recently <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2024/05/14/u-s-senators-question-doj-on-tornado-cash-charges/">two senators</a> wrote to the Department of Justice questioning stringent prohibitions put against unlicensed non-custodial money transmitting services such as Tornado Cash. The senators argued that such stringent provisions are likely to term computer developers into criminals. Nevertheless, Tornado Cash has emerged as a popular crypto tumbler that offers true anonymity.&nbsp; 
Disclaimer: This is an advertorial published on The Crypto Times website. The article has been written by a guest author and the editorial team of The Crypto Times has not edited it. Readers are advised to do their due diligence regarding the service’s legality and risks before using them.

What is Tornado Cash and how does it work?

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The Crypto Times

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