US vows to ‘aggressively pursue’ crypto mixers following Tornado Cash sanctions

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken The administration has warned it will continue to aggressively pursue cryptocurrency mixers suspected of illegal money laundering.

We take aggressive action against currency mixers laundering cryptocurrencies for criminals. today, @USTreasury Tornado Cash, a licensed cryptocurrency mixer, is being used to launder money by a US-sanctioned North Korean government-backed cyber hacking group.

Secretary Anthony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 8, 2022

The comment came as the U.S. Treasury Department enacted sanctions against Tornado Cash over allegations that it laundered $7 billion worth of cryptocurrency since 2019. press release Tornado Cash says it has repeatedly failed to implement “effective controls” to stop money laundering by criminals.

Overall, the crypto community reacted negatively to the sanctions, with many expressing concerns about hypocrisy and government overreach. Especially since the platform is a neutral tool that runs autonomously.

Deputy Writer and Self-Proclaimed Cyber Historian Lorenzo Franceschi Vicchierei summarized its argument by saying that the code is an expression of free speech and is not illegal, let alone licensed.

So let’s take a look at Secretary of State Brinken’s remarks and whether his words effectively put an end to cryptocurrency mixers and individual freedoms in the United States.

Is this the end of the cryptomixer?

In justifying sanctions against Tornado Cash, the U.S. Treasury Department said the platform repeatedly failed to implement controls to stop criminals from laundering money on its platform. However, Crypto Mixer, by its very nature, does not exercise Know Your Customer (KYC) controls.

Co-Founder of Tornado Cash Roman Semenov We explained that the platform is decentralized, autonomous, and operates without third-party control. To that end, it has no headquarters, no staff, and the user interface has been removed from the Ethereum name service domain.

Despite this, the U.S. Treasury Department says that cryptocurrencies mixers that support criminals are a threat to U.S. national security. It said it would continue to monitor Mixer’s activities with the aim of cracking down on illegal financial risks.

“[The] The Treasury Department will continue to investigate the use of mixers for illegal purposes and will use its authority to address the risks of illicit funding in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. “

Supported by the crypto community

Brinken’s tweet received more than 500 replies, most of which criticized the Treasury Department’s actions.

for example, twitter Users accused Tornado Cash of sanctioning hypocrisy when HSBC bank paid a $1.9 billion fine for money laundering charges.the incident happened near 10 years agoBut this does not detract from lawmakers favoring banks.

Fat Mantera Corrected Director Blinken who specified Lazarus and Tornado Cash as connecting entities to join the discussion. He said the hacking group only used the mixer platform.