U.S. Treasury Delists Tornado Cash Amid Legal and Market Shifts

• The U.S. Treasury has removed Tornado Cash from the sanctions list after a court ruling.
•  TRON (TRX) saw a 0.79% price increase following the token being delisted news.
• Privacy coins like Monero and Zcash gained so much after the Treasury’s decision.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has officially removed Tornado Cash from its sanctions list following a court rule. The digital asset mixing tool was first sanctioned in 2022 due to its allegations of facilitating money laundering, including over $7 billion in stolen funds, particularly linked to North Korean hackers. However, in 2024, a court ruled that the Treasury had overstepped its regulatory authority by sanctioning Tornado Cash’s smart contracts.   

Legal and Policy Revisions Behind the Decision

In a statement, the Treasury explained that the decision followed a ‘review of the novel, legal and policy issues” related to the evolving nature of technology and legal frameworks. Despite lifting the sanctions, the department reiterated its concern over North Korea’s cybercrime activities. Further, the agency stated taht it was concerned with the world’s sustained effort to hack, finance, and launder money furtively associated explicitly with acquiring digital assets for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Kim regime. 

The Treasury made it clear that it would continue to monitor transactions related to malicious accounts, particularly those benefiting the DPRK and warned users to be cautious while engaging in transactions linked to such risks.

Treasury’s Move Spikes Market

Tornado Cash (TORN) registered a phenomenal growth rate as its value shot upwards by 39.29% in the past 24 hours garnering investor interest. As of press time, the token is pegged at $11.72, moving upwards from the low point of $8.41. Along with the price surge, an increased trading volume was up by 1757.98% to $3.63 million. The total effect of the spike in prices and activities trading has increased Tornado Cash to a market capitalization of $61.63 million, with 5.25 million TORN available out of a total supply of 9.99 million.

Related: Tornado Cash Sanctions Overturned: Major Victory for Privacy 

Privacy-Focused Tokens and Broader Implications 

Beyond delisting, the agency’s decision has broader implications for the privacy-oriented crypto sector. Consequentially, the price of privacy coins like Monero and Zcash has seen a sudden surge in trading activity. Market movements on these tokens clearly illustrate the growing tension existing between innovations in decentralized technologies and regulatory oversights at a time when privacy tools are still facing harsh scrutiny and regulatory hurdles.

Although Tornado Cash is no longer under the sanctions list, Roman Semenov, the co-founder of Tornado Cash still faces ongoing litigation. Many view this as a sign that the Treasury is shifting to a more nuanced approach for privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, potentially setting the stage for more detailed regulations in the future.

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