Discussion

• @semenov_roman_ @semenov_roman_ on x

  My @GitHub account was just suspended 🤷 Is writing an open source code illegal now?

• @ustreasury @ustreasury on x

  Today, Treasury sanctioned virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash, which has been used to launder more than $7 billion worth of virtual currency since its creation in 2019. Virtual currency mixers that assist criminals are a threat to U.S. national security. https://home.treasury.go…

• @secblinken Secretary Antony Blinken on x

  We'll continue to aggressively pursue actions against currency mixers laundering virtual currency for criminals. Today, @USTreasury sanctioned virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash, which has been used to launder money for a U.S.-sanctioned DPRK state-sponsored cyber hacking group.

• @neerajka Neeraj K. Agrawal on x

  Coin Center statement on Tornado Cash: U.S. Treasury sanction of privacy tools places sweeping restrictions on all Americans. Sanctioned Tornado Cash smart contract is a tool, not a person. https://www.coincenter.org/... https://twitter.com/...

• @jchervinsky Jake Chervinsky on x

  For years, @USTreasury has carefully distinguished bad actors from the neutral tools & technology that they (plus everyone else in the world) are able to use. The decision to sanction @TornadoCash, a decentralized protocol, threatens that smart & balanced approach to crypto.

• @vitalikbuterin @vitalikbuterin on x

  @technocrypto I'll out myself as someone who has used TC to donate to this exact cause.

• @econoar @econoar on x

  Tornado Cash will just become Pirate Bay now. Endless forks of the front end spun up across IPFS + ENS. There's truly no stopping it.

• @thestalwart Joe Weisenthal on x

  https://twitter.com/...

• @ncweaver Nicholas Weaver on x

  How it Started // How Its Going https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ... https://home.treasury.gov/... https://twitter.com/...

• @blockanalia Andrew T on x

  Going thru the list of sanctioned addys ( https://home.treasury.gov/...) Includes TC Donate address, Proxy address, Gitcoin grants address (!), TC Router, the USDC 100 pool, 100 DAI pool, 10 ETH pool, 100 ETH pool, 1,000 DAI pool — appears to be every TC-related wallet they could…

• @statedeptspox Ned Price on x

  While much virtual currency activity is legal, it can be used for criminal activity, including sanctions evasion. The United States will continue to use its authorities to target malicious actors. https://state.gov/... https://twitter.com/...

• @cobie @cobie on x

  If I put 1 ETH into tornado cash right now do I go to jail or what happens

• @semenov_roman_ @semenov_roman_ on x

  So does it mean that Circle now has to freeze all USDC on Tornado Cash contracts?

• @lefterisjp @lefterisjp on x

  Sanctioning is one thing. But accusing @semenov_roman_ and team of being a DPRK state-sponsored hacking group without any proof is crossing a line. The secretary of state of the U.S. should absolutely provide proof for these claims or immediately retract them. https://twitter.com…

• @semenov_roman_ @semenov_roman_ on x

  Interesting that a static landing page url https://tornado.cash/ was sanctioned but not urls which can be used to access the actual dapp.

• @tornadocash @tornadocash on x

  One of many valid use cases of privacy protocols: donating to a cause that might get you in trouble if done publicly https://twitter.com/...

• @ourielohayon @ourielohayon on x

  they can only ban the interface. not the protocol it will be forced and a game of cat and mouse will start https://twitter.com/...

• @tier10k @tier10k on x

  [DB] US TREASURY SANCTIONS TORNADO CASH: WWEBSITE

• @ericgeller Eric Geller on x

  Breaking: @USTreasury sanctions leading cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, which officials say has helped hackers launder >$7 billion since its creation in 2019. North Korea used it to launder proceeds from its record-breaking $620m Ronin heist. https://home.treasury.gov/... http…

• @frankresearcher Igor Igamberdiev on x

  Should @a16z' Github account be suspended for using the Tornado code? https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @undersectfi Under Secretary Brian Nelson on x

  Tornado Cash has repeatedly failed to impose effective controls designed to stop it from laundering funds for malicious cyber actors on a regular basis. Treasury will continue to aggressively pursue actions against mixers that launder virtual currency for criminals. https://twitt…

• @chainalysis @chainalysis on x

  1/ According to our analysis, Tornado Cash has been used to launder funds from every hack conducted by North Korean-linked hackers this year. https://twitter.com/...

• @kevincollier Kevin Collier on x

  In theory, crypto mixers have legitimate uses — i.e a way for privacy maximalists to take comfort in hiding their money — but in practice it seems like they've just overwhelmingly used for money laundering. https://twitter.com/...

• @koeppelmann @koeppelmann on x

  start curating some interesting takes here: You might want to get your USDC out of Tornado - though I am not sure if you are allowed to touch it at this point? 🤔 https://twitter.com/...

• @adrianoferia @adrianoferia on x

  What have we learned from the Tornado Cash sanction? 1. Tornado Cash works. 2. It's a dApp built on #Ethereum, so that works too. 3. They had to prohibit Americans from using it because they can't stop Tornado Cash or ETH from running. 4. Bad actors will continue to use it. https…

• @smdiehl Stephen Diehl on x

  We should sanction Binance next. Reuters alleges they're the largest hub for North Korean laundering and terrorism financing. https://www.reuters.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @cobie @cobie on x

  What happens if I put 1 ETH into Tornado Cash and then withdraw it to Gainzy's address... does he go to jail? Sounds pretty good deal for me, low cost and no more Gainzy

• @matthew_d_green Matthew Green on x

  I mean I don't think this will work long term, but also makes you think that the lack of contract privacy on Ethereum is a pretty big weakness. https://twitter.com/...

• @albertwenger Albert Wenger on x

  Even though I believe privacy and progress are long term incompatible, sanctioning a smart contract itself is not the way forward https://twitter.com/...

• @qondintini @qondintini on x

  This is why I call crypto: CrimeCoin https://twitter.com/...

• @sethforprivacy @sethforprivacy on x

  Another important note — Ethereum's piss-poor privacy on-chain w/o tools like Tornado Cash means the US gov will have immense visibility into who enters Tornado Cash pools. Same issue exists with using Samourai Wallet on Bitcoin — it's clear when you choose to use it.

• @kebrightbill Kathryn Brightbill on x

  What even is crypto if not a money laundering service? https://twitter.com/...

• @0xfoobar @0xfoobar on x

  Crypto will be a sweeping success for the surveillance state unless privacy is normalized, legalized & adopted at scale People don't realize how deeply dystopian things become unless privacy is treated as the core human right it is

• @haileylennonbtc Hailey Lennon on x

  In order to say a mixer was used to launder more than $7 billion worth of virtual currency means they should actually have to have evidence of illicit/criminal activity as to the source or use to the crypto. Using a mixer does not automatically = money laundering. https://twitter…

• @goldman Jason Goldman on x

  Package of all these executive enforcement actions (Treasury, DOJ) as part of a push that web3 needs to be made safe for consumers in order to be a real thing. https://twitter.com/...

• @neerajka Neeraj K. Agrawal on x

  Treasury's press release does not say anything about Tornado Cash being “DPRK sponsored” https://home.treasury.gov/...

• @nicoleperlroth Nicole Perlr🌻th on x

  The frequency of these sanctions, indictments and arrests of cybercriminals, cryptocurrency players, money launderers etc. is no accident. USG and blockchain intelligence companies like @trmlabs are scaling powerful tracing tools. This is just Chapter One. #watchthisspace https:/…

• @prestonjbyrne Preston Byrne on x

  A meaningful chunk of the world's Ether supply just got blacklisted forever. Fun times. https://twitter.com/...

• @sethforprivacy @sethforprivacy on x

  1) The smart contract is able to be called/used regardless of this, interestingly enough 2) #1 is why protocol-level/decentralized privacy is stronger than centralized/coordinated Not advocating breaking a sanction, just commenting on technical details. https://www.coindesk.com/.…

• @williamjluther William J. Luther on x

  Financial privacy is a crime, apparently. https://twitter.com/...

• @derekmross @derekmross on x

  The U.S. Treasury Department barred all U.S. persons from using Tornado Cash, alleging its use in laundering stolen crypto funds by North Korean hackers poses a national security threat. https://www.coindesk.com/...

• @prestonjbyrne Preston Byrne on x

  They might not be able to regulate protocols, but they can regulate people. https://twitter.com/...

• @masonic_tweets @masonic_tweets on x

  Narrator: “Its that good” https://twitter.com/...

• @migueldeicaza Miguel de Icaza on x

  Nice, for background check this piece by @ncweaver: https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...

• @liron Liron Shapira on x

  “Regulatory arbitrage”, a claimed cryptocurrency value prop, is impossible to scale. It just means exploiting loopholes gov hasn't prioritized closing, and breaking laws gov hasn't prioritized enforcing. When you try to scale that, gov scales up its regulation and prosecution. ht…

• @gossithedog Kevin Beaumont on x

  Tornado Cash is linked to various types of online crime (including ransomware) where payments are effectively shuffled to try to prevent tracing. https://twitter.com/...

• @howelloneill Patrick Howell O'Neill on x

  “Tornado Cash is a favorite money laundering tool for North Korean cybercriminals who, according to analysis by TRM Labs, have used the mixer to launder stolen funds estimated at over $1 billion, including in the $620 million Ronin Bridge hack” https://www.trmlabs.com/...

• @josephdelong @josephdelong on x

  People now unironically need a tornado cash for funds that touched tornado cash

• @mayazi Maya Zehavi on x

  The OFAC/Tornado slippery slope: banning any on-chain private metadata cuz it could potentially harm blockchain forensic analysis. I.e. only wallets that can be hermetically survelied are kosher under OFAC crypto rules. It's a government war on privacy, not money laundering

• @molly0xfff Molly White on x

  this is pretty huge news. for a glimpse at how widely tornado cash is used, see https://web3isgoinggreat.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...

• @coinmamba @coinmamba on x

  Personally I've never used Tornado Cash and see no reason for anyone to use it unless for shady purposes..

• @michaeltant3 Michael Tant on x

  Theoretically, how easy or cheap would it be to send a withdrawal TXN from tornado cash to every single ENS owner, or to owners of specific NFT collections, etc. This seems like a problem lol

• @eamonjavers Eamon Javers on x

  Treasury is framing this as a crackdown on North Korean hackers, but when I asked a senior treasury official who exactly is behind Tornado Cash, the official said Treasury can't offer details on who runs the site or where they are.

• @ivanthek @ivanthek on x

  At what point do international regulators go after miners who validate illegal transactions on a blockchain? That, to me, seems like the silver torpedo.

• @loomdart @loomdart on x

  what are the material implications of tornado being on OFAC?

• @adamscochran Adam Cochran on x

  And, how many levels deep will this go? If someone pulls their now sanctioned ETH out of Tornado and puts it in the ETH/USDC pool on Uniswap, does Circle have to freeze the equiv USDC? Are assets in that pool now dirtied?

• @adamscochran Adam Cochran on x

  This is also the first time I think we've seen a contract sanctioned - meaning its a ban on interacting with the contract itself. So many open questions: -Is that ETH in their now worth 0? -Are addresses that legitimately used Tornado in the past burned?

• @ericgeller Eric Geller on x

  A senior Treasury Department official told reporters this morning that the Tornado Cash designation would send a strong message to companies that still haven't implemented anti-money-laundering technologies. TC implemented some protocols but Treasury still saw NK using it.

• @ericgeller Eric Geller on x

  The senior Treasury official said the department would watch for signs that Tornado Cash was rebranding in an effort to evade sanctions, but they added that there was no sign of another major mixer, https://blender.io/, reconstituting after being sanctioned in May.

• @cobie @cobie on x

  Is this bullish ? https://home.treasury.gov/... https://twitter.com/...

• @juthica @juthica on x

  money laundering remains most effective through USD-mixing service HSBC

• @robustus Dan McArdle on x

  And can handle *much* higher volume than any laundering that has occurred via crypto https://twitter.com/...

• @ivanthek @ivanthek on x

  “Tornado Cash is a virtual currency mixer that operates on the Ethereum blockchain and indiscriminately facilitates anonymous transactions by obfuscating their origin, destination, and counterparties, with no attempt to determine their origin.” https://home.treasury.gov/...

• @ncweaver Nicholas Weaver on x

  This is my super happy dance! HAPPY DANCE!!! https://twitter.com/...

• @antoniomjuliano @antoniomjuliano on x

  This is an outrageous attack on privacy The web3 equivalent of sanctioning a technology like VPNs or Tor https://twitter.com/...

• @adamscochran Adam Cochran on x

  Ooof. This one is rough. There are problematic transactions, but there are also lots of legitimate reasons to use Tornado for onchain privacy. A blanket sanction is an absolute attack on consumer privacy. https://twitter.com/...

• @concodanomics @concodanomics on x

  JUST IN: Tornado Cash has been added to OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. It joins the likes of U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, and international criminals.

• @pierre_crypt0 @pierre_crypt0 on x

  Justin Sun is two tweets away from saying he's migrating Tornado Cash to Tron.

• @marionawfal Mario Nawfal on x

  Tornado cash is used to mix a user's crypto making it difficult or impossible to trace. To many these sanctions are not a surprise.

• @dogetoshi Steven on x

  A bunch of these addresses are Tornado Cash's smart contracts. Is this the first on-chain sanctioning of a DeFi protocol? https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @sniko_ @sniko_ on x

  TornadoCash has been added to OFAC SDN list Addresses yet to be added to ChainAnalysis Sanctions Oracle Cannot sanction a smart contract https://home.treasury.gov/...

• @0xfoobar @0xfoobar on x

  Time to send 1 OFAC-sanctioned ether directly to my enemies

• @fredericjacobs Frederic Jacobs on x

  Ethereum addresses corresponding to the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado cash have been added to the Department of Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list https://home.treasury.gov/...

• @cobie @cobie on x

  @DegenSpartan Depositing 50 ETH into Tornado Cash and then withdrawing it to Udi. Have fun visiting the USA

• @degenspartan @degenspartan on x

  ive mentioned before that i think it is -EV to use tornado instead of just washing your tracks through CEXes method choice depends who you are trying to evade imo tornado only makes sense if you did a protocol level hack

• @smdiehl Stephen Diehl on x

  Credit goes to @ncweaver for helping get officials aware of the need to sanction TornadoCash. North Korea's favourite crypto money laundering service. Can't believe it took this long. https://twitter.com/...