Sanctions couldn't 'pull the plug' on Tornado Cash: Chainalysis
Sanctions aimed at decentralized crypto mixer Tornado Cash weren’t able to completely cut off its usage, though it has hamstrung the service, a blockchain analytics firm has shared.
On Aug. 8, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the crypto mixer for its role in the laundering of crime proceeds.
In a report published on Jan. 9, Chainalysis said the sanctions did have some effect, causing total inflows to the mixer to drop by 68% in the 30 days after the sanctions came into force.
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However, the firm also emphasized that because Tornado Cash is a smart-contract-based decentralized platform, “no person or organization can ‘pull the plug’ as easily on Tornado Cash as they could with a centralized service.”
Chainalysis gave the example of darknet marketplace Hydra, which in contrast, saw its cryptocurrency inflows drop to zero after German police seized its servers as a result of sanctions.
Chainalysis explained that while sanctions applied to Tornado Cash saw its “front-end website taken down, its smart contracts can run indefinitely, meaning anyone can still technically use it at any time,” adding:
OFAC came down hard on Tornado Cash in Aug. 2022 due to concerns that individuals and groups had allegedly used the mixer to launder billions worth of crypto since 2019 including the $455 million stolen by the North Korea-affiliated Lazarus Group.
The agency then amended those sanctions in November as it cracked down on the platform
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