US Treasury officials have lifted sanctions on tornado cash, a crypto mixer that the US government previously said was used to stolen 7 billion worth of crypto theft by North Korean hackers.
In a statement, the Treasury said it had “execute our discretion” to abolish tornado cash following the legal battle. Sanctions make it illegal for Americans or US companies to trade with listed entities.
Cryptographic mixers allow customers to hide where the cryptography comes from, including contaminated or illegal funds, by merging the funds with other cryptography.
In 2022, the Treasury denounced the “notorious” tornado cash for stolen codes from hacks carried out by North Korea, which aimed to steal codes to fund nuclear weapons programs. In August 2023, the two founders of Tornado Cash were criminally charged in federal court in New York and charged with conspiracy to violate money and sanctions.
The Treasury said it continues to be “deeply concerned” about the threat of a crypto hack from the North Korean regime after the delisting of tornado cash.