Treasury on Monday Ban The American uses cryptocurrency platform Tornado Cash, which he says has helped criminals launder more than $7 billion in cryptocurrency.
The crackdown marks the latest move by the U.S. government to curb the cryptocurrency industry at a time when lawmakers and regulators are increasingly concerned about cryptocurrency volatility and its role in facilitating hacking and other crimes. It was an effort. The Treasury Department, which has called the platform a “threat to U.S. national security,” has blacklisted Tornado Cash as a sanctioned company, making it illegal for Americans to use the service to send or receive money. Did.
“Tornado Cash has repeatedly committed itself to implementing effective controls to stop it from laundering money for malicious cyber attackers,” said Brian Nelson, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, in a statement. I am failing,” he said.
Criminals have long used cryptocurrencies to trade anonymously, exchanging digital coins for drugs and other illicit goods. However, cryptocurrency anonymity does not provide comprehensive security. Cryptocurrency transactions are recorded on a publicly viewable ledger called a blockchain, allowing law enforcement officers to track the money.
Platforms like Tornado Cash are designed to make this kind of tracking more difficult. These crypto “mixers” take multiple streams of transactions and combine them to obscure the origin and destination of the funds. According to the Treasury Department, Tornado Cash was used to launder more than $455 million of his cryptocurrency stolen this year by a North Korean-backed hacker called the Lazarus Group.
No messages were returned to Tornado Cash’s official Twitter account. Roman Semenov, one of his three founders of the company, did not respond to a request for comment.
Tornado Cash has gained traction since its launch in 2019, mainly because blockchain records show hackers used it to move stolen cryptocurrencies. .of interviewSemenov defended the service, saying the software protects the privacy of legitimate crypto traders who could be targeted by kidnappers and thieves.
In a statement, crypto advocacy group Coin Center criticized The Treasury Department’s announcement claims that Tornado Cash is a neutral platform that “can be used like any other technology, for better or for worse.”
“It is not a specific villain who is being sanctioned,” the statement said. “Instead, every American would want to use this automated tool to protect their privacy during online transactions.”
As the digital currency market grows, the federal government tightens its crackdown on loosely regulated cryptocurrency companies. Stablecoin company Tether fined The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit last year for misrepresenting its reserves, and last month the Justice Department accused a former employee of Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, of insider trading.
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is also under investigation by the Treasury Department for allegedly violating US sanctions.
