Texas Court Overturns OFAC Sanctions on Tornado Cash in Van Loon Case, TORN Surges 220%

Jan 22, 2025, 10:54 AM

A Texas District Court has overturned the sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service, in the case of Van Loon v. Department of the Treasury. The court ruled that Tornado Cash's smart contracts are not considered 'property' under U.S. law, thus OFAC overstepped its authority by sanctioning them. The decision marks a significant victory for cryptocurrency privacy advocates and has led to the release of Ross Freed. Following the ruling, Tornado Cash's native token, TORN, experienced a surge, reaching as high as $25.97, a 220% increase, before settling at around $24.80. The court's decision also sets a legal precedent for decentralized finance (DeFi) by clarifying the status of immutable smart contracts. The Treasury had accused Tornado Cash of facilitating the laundering of $455 million for North Korea's Lazarus Group.