Cryptocurrency research and legal center Coin Center considers the actions of the US government illegal and entailing serious consequences for Americans.
Coin Center is preparing to challenge the US government’s ban on the operation of the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash in court. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) overstepped the bounds and violated constitutional law when it blacklisted Tornado Cash last week, rights activists say.
According to Coin Center Executive Director Jerry Brito and Research Director Peter Van Valkenburgh, OFAC has exceeded its legal authority by adding certain Tornado Cash smart contract addresses to the list of organizations and individuals with whom it is forbidden to do business. in the USA (SDN).
This action potentially violates constitutional rights to due process and free speech, and OFAC has not taken adequate steps to mitigate the impact its actions would have on Americans. Human rights activists appeal to the fact that Tornado Cash is an open-source decentralized application that anyone can contribute to and no one controls, unlike Blender, which was like a full-fledged company in its structure.
OFAC sanctioned Tornado Cash on August 8, saying criminal gangs have used it to launder more than $7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies since the service was launched in 2019. Coin Center cites a study by Elliptic according to which only $1.5 billion of illegal funds were channeled through Tornado Cash.
Recall that Alexey Pertsev, the developer of the Tornado Cash mixer, was arrested in the Netherlands on August 10. This decision of the Dutch law enforcement agencies caused a split in the crypto community. The arrested man’s wife is looking for a lawyer and community support.
Earlier, Coin Center sued the US Treasury and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), accusing them of violating the constitution. The organization demanded that last year’s law requiring reporting on taxes on cryptocurrencies be declared unconstitutional.
Source: Bits
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