Why Tornado Cash is up today (July 7)?
Tornado Cash token jumps after U.S. Court dismisses sanctions
On Monday, the TORN token of the privacy-focused Tornado Cash protocol, built on Ethereum, jumped 14% to $10.55. The rally was driven by news that a U.S. court dismissed sanctions-related charges against the well-known crypto mixer.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2023 ruling by the Northern District of Florida that had upheld Treasury Department sanctions against Tornado Cash. The appeals court ordered the lower court to dismiss the case.
Although the decision was made on July 3, the news gained traction only after the weekend, sparking a sharp TORN price increase. At the time of writing, the token traded at $9.61 — a 4.5% gain over 24 hours.
Price dynamics of TORN for 24 hours. Source: CoinMarketCap
During the legal proceedings, judges disagreed on how to classify the anonymous transaction protocol and the harm it may cause. Ultimately, the appeals court ruled that immutable smart contract code is not property and therefore cannot be sanctioned.
The U.S. Treasury has chosen not to appeal to the Supreme Court, stating it will instead focus on new “targeted tools” to better combat illicit crypto flows.
Awaiting new regulation
Tornado Cash continues to operate on-chain and remains free from centralized control. Its governance token, TORN, is traded on decentralized exchanges, which have never delisted it.
However, the court decision does not affect the separate criminal proceedings against the protocol’s co-founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, who are accused of money laundering in the Southern District of New York.
As we wrote, Tornado Cash wins legal fight with U.S. Treasury
