Blockchain Association is sticking to its position, which states that neutral tools can’t be legally sanctioned.
In a recent court filing on Wednesday, crypto policy advocates backed up a lawsuit filed by a group against the US government for sanctioning Tornado Cash’s crypto mixing service in 2022.
Six Tornado cash users filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Department, Janet Yellen as Secretary, and the Office of Foreign Asset Control, headed by Andrea Gacki, in September 2022. This was a month following the imposition of sanctions.
Van Loon et al., the plaintiffs in this case, claim that government actions violate constitutional rights. “threaten the ability of law-abiding Americans to engage freely and privately in financial transactions,” The complaint was filed on the 8th of September.
Amicus Brief, which is a document from a non-party interested in the case but who has expressed an interest, was filed on Wednesday by The Blockchain Association.
“We urge OFAC to see Tornado Cash for what it is: an autonomous, decentralized software program that supports the right to privacy, rather than a tool that is de facto illegal simply because it can be used by anyone, including bad actors,” Kristin Smith is the CEO of Blockchain Association.
“A hammer is a tool, a car is a tool, indeed the internet itself could be considered a tool. Ordinarily, OFAC would not consider sanctioning neutral tools used by some people for illicit activities, it would sanction the people committing those activities,” Smith added.
Tornado Cash is accused by the Treasury of being used to illegally launder over $100,000,000 in cryptocurrency stolen from 2022 hacks.
Van Loon et al. countered in their original complaint that, as a software decentralized and open source, OFAC had no jurisdiction to sanction Tornado Cash. The plaintiffs claim that the use of Tornado Cash to anonymize cryptocurrency transactions and donations is legal because citizens are entitled to privacy and security when it comes to financial transactions.
“To avoid broadcasting their finances to the world, many digital asset holders have turned to privacy-protecting tools like Tornado Cash,” The Blockchain Association argued in an amicus brief. “Such tools allow users to reclaim privacy that would be available as a matter of course in other contexts, while retaining the benefits that come with using blockchain technology.”
Court documents state that the parties, or their counsels will be required to appear at a pretrial on April 23,2023.
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