TRM Labs confirms “Tornado Cash is different” in response to OFAC sanctions
For a deep dive into how leading DEXs have dealt with OFAC sanctions within the crypto ecosystem, watch this exclusive interview with TRM Labs.
TRM Labs is a blockchain intelligence company that helps detect blockchain-related risks for financial institutions, crypto-native businesses, and government agencies.
The company offers a range of services, including assessing the risk profile of virtual asset service providers and other crypto businesses, investigating the origin and destination of crypto funds, and monitoring transactions. TRM Labs can also run all functions cross-chain.
Tornado Cache API
In the wake of Tornado Cash’s sanctions, TRM Labs has been highlighted as one of the players involved in censoring addresses associated with platforms such as Uniswap and Aave. In this exclusive interview with CryptoSlate, Redbord said TRM Labs understands “Tornado Cash is different” regarding his OFAC sanctions.
In the past, licensed organizations were centralized in nature and used almost exclusively for money laundering and other criminal purposes. However, Tornado Cash has legitimate use cases where users want to remove visibility from counterparties. A simple example is when an employee wants to be paid in cryptocurrency, but the employer is unable to check the wallet balance.
In an interview, Redbord revealed that TRM Labs started out as a technology company, with a team rooted in Silicon Valley. While we share a vision of a decentralized future, the goal is to facilitate the transition by striving to keep bad actors out of the current iteration of web3.
Anti-money laundering of virtual currency
While the company believes blockchain will bring inclusiveness to all in the world, it acknowledges that blockchain is still unmarked territory with significant potential risks. Its motto is “Crypto promises are too valuable to forestall risk”.
Ari Redbord, General Counsel at TRM Labs, explains the company:
“We are against money laundering of cryptocurrencies.”
The company works with law enforcement agencies, crypto-native companies, and traditional financial institutions. TRM Labs also works with law enforcement to track the flow of illicit funds and works with DeFi protocols, exchanges and NFT issuers to monitor transactions to ensure everything is on track. increase. Finally, the company is working with financial institutions to help with crypto adoption.
sanctions compliance
Redbord said that while TRM has had different products serving different types of organizations, its Sanctions Compliance API is one of its most successful.
Shortly after being sanctioned by the majority of the world for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, TRM Labs created and listed a data feed API containing all cryptocurrency wallet addresses of sanctioned individuals. They opened it up for use by small exchanges that don’t have a large legal team, and companies that use this API basically use data from her TRM to determine if they want to sanction someone or not. to decide.
According to Redbord, its product has recently received top ratings, and its reach has been extended by all applicable sanctions, including the Tornado Cash ban. Redbord explains his TRM Labs take on his conflicting Tornado Cash ban:
“By providing more detailed data, companies can make decisions that are not just automated, and not just block the person who throws the dust.”
