The US Department of the Treasury will allow Tornado Cash users to complete transactions and withdraw cryptocurrencies
The US Treasury Department has updated its policy on the Ethereum-based Tornado Cash cryptocurrency mixing service.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed the ban on August 8, arguing that the protocol facilitated money laundering and terrorism.
The OFAC move effectively suspended transactions, leaving users unable to withdraw their funds.
In a new statement, the Treasury Department says affected individuals can now file a special license request with OFAC to complete their pending transactions and recover their crypto assets.
“U.S. persons should be prepared to provide, at a minimum, all relevant information regarding these Tornado Cash transactions, including wallet addresses for the sender and recipient, transaction hashes, date and time of transaction(s), as well as the amount(s) of virtual currency.
OFAC would have a favorable licensing policy for such applications, as long as the transaction did not involve other sanctionable conduct.”
The option applies to funds deposited prior to Tornado Cash's inclusion on OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, or SDN List.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Congressman Tom Emmer of Minnesota says that despite the illicit use of Tornado Cash, law-abiding individuals also use the service to protect the privacy of their financial transactions.
Cryptocurrency advocacy group Coin Center is also considering challenging OFAC in court, arguing that Tornado Cash is not something that can be added to the SDN list.
Sep 15, 2022
