US Government Lifts Sanctions Against Tornado Cash
Tornado Cash has been sanctioned multiple times over allegations of assisting Lazarus Group in money laundering.
Author: Nikhilesh De Updated Mar 21, 2025 19:34 UTC Published Mar 21, 2025 14:53 UTC
What you need to know:
- The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions agency has removed Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing tool, from its global blacklist, lifting previous sanctions in line with a federal appeals court ruling.
- More than 100 Ethereum (ETH) addresses are also being removed from the list of Specially Designated Nationals that the Treasury uses to maintain its blacklist.
- Despite Tornado Cash being removed from the sanctions list, Roman Shtorm, one of its co-founders, still faces criminal charges in July this year over his alleged role in creating smart contracts and protocols.
On Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement agency removed Tornado Cash from its global blacklist.
The crypto-mixing tool has been accused of helping North Korea’s Lazarus Group launder stolen funds from its various hacks and thefts, and the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned it multiple times — meaning no U.S. person or anyone doing business with the U.S. can interact with it financially. However, last November, a federal appeals court ruled that OFAC cannot sanction Tornado Cash’s smart contracts because they are not the “property” of any foreign person.
“We remain extremely concerned about a widespread, state-sponsored hacking and money laundering campaign aimed at stealing, acquiring, and using digital assets to benefit the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Kim Jong Un regime,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in a press release.
Another OFAC press release listed more than 100 Ethereum (ETH) addresses being removed from the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals list, which is used to maintain its blacklist.
Roman Storm, one of the co-founders of Tornado Cash, faces criminal trial in July for his alleged role in developing smart contracts and protocols. Another developer has been indicted but has not yet been arrested. Following the Fifth Circuit’s November ruling, Storm’s attorneys filed a motion asking the court to reconsider its previous decision to dismiss the charges against him. That motion was denied in February, when Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) said whether Tornado Cash was subject to sanctions “does not affect the sanctions that the defendant allegedly conspired to violate (those imposed against Lazarus Group).”
Storm's attorney, Brian Klein of Waymaker LLP, told CoinDesk he was “very pleased” that sanctions against Tornado Cash were lifted.
“Now, the prosecutors in the Southern District of New York must also reconsider their unfortunate decision to indict our client and dismiss the case against him,” Klein added.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that the U.S. needs to “protect the digital asset industry from abuse by North Korea and other illicit actors.”
In a court filing Monday, cited by the Treasury Department in its announcement Friday, the department suggested it might not move to lift sanctions entirely.
“The complete revocation of Tornado Cash’s status could have serious consequences
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