Tornado Cash Co-founder: U.S. Treasury Admits Error in Mixer Rules

Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm posted that the U.S. Treasury recently acknowledged in a document that prior rules targeting the crypto mixer had flaws, noting they could create a "chilling effect" on legitimate activities. Storm stated that while relevant U.S. Treasury departments now recognize the policy is problematic, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) still maintains in its case that even legitimate transactions conducted via Tornado Cash are illegal, as they could be used for money laundering, sanctions evasion and other criminal acts. He pointed out that non-criminal U.S. government agencies consider the policies improper, while the criminal justice department deems all related transactions criminal. Storm argued that the "war" on the crypto industry is ongoing and could set a dangerous legal precedent for the U.S. regarding developers and open-source software. He added that he has been detained and prosecuted for over 1,139 days, noting his case originates from developing open-source code. Storm revealed that a new filing was submitted today by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) federal court, with the DOJ still pushing for his conviction.