Crypto Clash Ends: Coin Center vs. U.S. Treasury on Tornado Cash Sanctions

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Dismisses Case

The dust has finally settled in the epic legal showdown between Coin Center and the U.S. Treasury over the sanctioning of the notorious crypto mixer, Tornado Cash. After years of fierce battles, it's game over.

In a fiery June 7 post on X, Coin Center's director Peter Van Valkenburgh dropped the bombshell that their fight against the Treasury's power to sanction Tornado Cash is officially done. This came right after the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals pulled the plug on the case, according to the latest court filings.

"This is the official end to our court battle over the statutory authority behind the TC sanctions. The government was not interested in moving forward and defending their dangerously overbroad interpretation of sanctions laws," he blasted.

The dismissal follows a rollercoaster of earlier rulings, including a November 2023 decision where a district court shot down Coin Center’s claim that the sanctions trampled on First Amendment rights. The court ruled that the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) was within its rights when it slammed Tornado Cash with sanctions.

Back in 2022, OFAC threw the book at Tornado Cash, accusing it of fueling illegal financial antics, including laundering millions for the notorious North Korea-linked hacker gang, Lazarus.

But hold on—this year, a Texas court flipped the script and ordered OFAC to lift the sanctions. The government threw in the towel and didn't appeal. As a result, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals said the case was a dead end.

"The government’s view is that OFAC’s rescission of the designation moots this appeal. Plaintiffs’ view is that this appeal will become moot after the Texas judgment becomes final and unappealable," the court declared.

But don't think Tornado Cash's legal woes are over just yet. Roman Storm, indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly greasing the wheels for shady financial dealings, is set to face the music next week. He's been adamant about his innocence, claiming neither he nor his co-founders knowingly let criminals use the platform.

Meanwhile, Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Pertsev was nailed in May 2024 on similar charges and got hit with a 64-month prison sentence. He's out now but chained to house arrest with electronic monitoring. And the third developer, Roman Semenov, also in the DOJ's crosshairs, is still playing hide and seek with the law since the initial crackdown.