The U.S. government has officially concluded its appeal in the Coin Center lawsuit, ensuring Tornado Cash protection from renewed sanctions and ending years of litigation.
End of Legal Proceedings
The U.S. government has withdrawn its appeal in the Coin Center case, thus securing Tornado Cash from renewed sanctions. This decision concludes a multi-year legal battle that began in 2022 when Coin Center filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury Department over sanctions imposed on Tornado Cash, which were alleged to facilitate illicit transactions by North Korean actors. These sanctions were lifted in November 2024.
Market Reaction to the News
Following the announcement of the end of the appeal, the Tornado Cash token, TORN, rose by approximately 4%. This price movement occurred amidst uncertainties regarding the platform's future. Meanwhile, co-founder Roman Storm is facing separate criminal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Current Status of Tornado Cash
Tornado Cash remains technically operational as decentralized software. While the resolution provides protection from new sanctions, it does not affect Storm's ongoing criminal case. The platform currently has over $468 million in total value locked (TVL) across its anonymization pools, underscoring its relevance in on-chain privacy use cases.
The conclusion of the legal proceedings and the U.S. government’s withdrawal of its appeal represent significant steps in protecting Tornado Cash from new sanctions, potentially opening new avenues for developers and the community, despite ongoing criminal proceedings against an individual founder.
