- The Blockchain Association said in its brief that OFAC should follow the law.
- In August of 2022, OFAC first sanctioned Tornado Cash.
The Blockchain Association has added its voice to that of the six plaintiffs who are challenging the sanctions placed on the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash by the U.S Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
In a Nov. 20 amicus curiae brief to a U.S. appeal court, the crypto advocacy organization contended OFAC’s decision to punish the privacy protocol was not only unconstitutional but beyond its legislative power and was both “arbitrary and capricious” – according to the U.S. Constitution.
Autonomous Organization Claim
A group of Tornado Cash users are appealing a lower court verdict that supported OFAC’s decision to put the cryptocurrency mixer on its list of sanctioned businesses, and the Blockchain Association has submitted an amicus brief in favor of them for the second time.
Senior counsel for the Blockchain Association Marisa Coppel said in a statement released on November 20 that OFAC should concentrate on penalizing fenders rather than simply prohibiting technologies.
The Blockchain Association said in its brief that OFAC should follow the law and obtain Congressional permission before outlawing cryptocurrency mixers like Tornado Cash. Moreover, Tornado Cash, according to the Blockchain Association’s long-held belief, operates autonomously and requires no human intervention or supervision.
In August of 2022, OFAC first sanctioned Tornado Cash. It said that since 2019, people and organizations have used the mixer to launder over $7 billion worth of cryptocurrency, including $455 million looted by an organization with ties to North Korea.
A federal court rejected the motion filed by Coinbase and other cryptocurrency industry titans in early August, arguing that the US Treasury’s penalties against cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash went too far.
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