The Treasury Department has sanctioned Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer that has allegedly helped to launder more than $7 billion in virtual currency since its inception in 2019.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. The Treasury Department has sanctioned Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer that has allegedly helped to launder more than $7 billion in virtual currency since its inception in 2019.
According to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Tornado Cash’s systems were used to launder more than $96 million from the June Harmony blockchain bridge theft and the August Nomad crypto firm heist. The Treasury Department has sanctioned Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer that has allegedly helped to launder more than $7 billion in virtual currency since its inception in 2019.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. The Treasury Department has sanctioned Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer that has allegedly helped to launder more than $7 billion in virtual currency since its inception in 2019.
According to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Tornado Cash’s systems were used to launder more than $96 million from the June Harmony blockchain bridge theft and the August Nomad crypto firm heist.
The Treasury Department has sanctioned Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer that has allegedly helped to launder more than $7 billion in virtual currency since its inception in 2019.
Mixing services combine various digital assets, including potentially illegally obtained funds and legitimately obtained funds, for illegal actors to conceal the source of stolen funds.
In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the United States “will continue to pursue actions against mixers laundering virtual currency for criminals and those who assist them.”
“The new sanctions highlight the growing use of digital assets by state actors and individuals to perpetuate illegal acts.” Concerns have been expressed by lawmakers and administration officials about the use of cryptocurrency to commit illegal acts.
“The United States will not hesitate to use its authorities against malicious cyber actors to expose, disrupt, and promote accountability for criminal perpetrators and enablers,” Blinken stated.
The sanctions imposed on a digital currency blending firm on Monday are the second-ever.
The US accuses Tornado Cash of assisting in the laundering of a portion of the more than $600 million stolen by the sanctioned North Korean cyber hacking group Lazarus Group is one of the largest-known virtual currency heists to date.
The United States sanctioned North Korean digital currency mixing firm Blender.io in May, accusing it of assisting Lazarus Group in carrying out the March digital currency heist.
“We will continue to aggressively pursue actions against mixers who launder virtual currency for criminals and those who assist them,” he said.
President Joe Biden issued an executive order on digital assets in March, part of which called for federal regulators to assist in mitigating the illicit finance and national security risks posed by digital asset misuse.
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