Blockchain Association files support in suit to lift Tornado Cash sanctions

The Blockchain Affiliation has thrown recent assist behind six plaintiffs suing america Treasury Workplace of Overseas Belongings Management (OFAC) over its sanctions on the crypto mixer Twister Money.

In a Nov. 20 amicus curiae transient to a U.S. appellate court docket, the crypto advocacy group argued OFAC’s choice to sanction the privateness protocol was not solely illegal however exceeded its statutory authority and was each “arbitrary and capricious” — opposite to the U.S. Structure.

It’s the second amicus transient filed by the Blockchain Affiliation supporting a bunch of Twister Money customers interesting a decrease court docket’s ruling that upheld OFAC’s choice so as to add the cryptocurrency mixer to its checklist of sanctioned entities.

At this time we filed an amicus transient within the fifth Circuit enchantment of Van Loon v. Treasury concerning OFAC’s sanctions in opposition to Twister Money.

Learn Senior Counsel @MTCoppel‘s thread beneath for extra. https://t.co/1pmSAt1Bds https://t.co/c5ScaTDr9N pic.twitter.com/e9ySvcKdeM

— Blockchain Affiliation (@BlockchainAssn) November 20, 2023

Blockchain Affiliation senior counsel Marisa Coppel emphasised in a Nov. 20 assertion that OFAC must concentrate on sanctioning unhealthy actors reasonably than outright banning instruments, which she claimed it has no authority over.

“OFAC should see Twister Money for what it’s: a software that can be utilized by anybody,” Coppel mentioned. “Somewhat than sanctioning a software with a lawful objective, OFAC ought to stay targeted on the unhealthy actors that misuse such instruments.”

“OFAC’s motion units a harmful new precedent that drastically exceeds their authority and jeopardizes law-abiding People’ proper to privateness.”

In its transient, the Blockchain Affiliation instructed OFAC ought to act inside the bounds of the regulation by searching for approval from Congress to ban crypto mixers similar to Twister Money.

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“The right treatment is to hunt laws from Congress that would supply supplemental authority within the uniquely decentralized digital asset context — to not improperly stretch its present authorities,”  it mentioned.

“Such a power-grab could be a slippery slope that would threaten all method of internet-based instruments which have heretofore been freely out there.”

The Blockchain Affiliation has lengthy held that Twister Money has no proprietor or operator and may operate robotically with out human intervention or help.

5/ OFAC’s authority solely extends to individuals or property…the Twister Money software program is neither.

There isn’t any proprietor.
No operator.
It capabilities autonomously.
And immutably.

— Marisa Tashman Coppel (@MTCoppel) November 20, 2023

OFAC first sanctioned Twister Money in August 2022. It alleged that people and teams had used the mixer to launder greater than $7 billion in cryptocurrencies since 2019, together with the $455 million stolen by the North Korea-affiliated Lazarus Group.

Crypto change Coinbase additionally backed the swimsuit, pledging to

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