Tornado Cash crackdown by Treasury puts honest crypto investors at risk of criminal exposure

The Treasury Department’s crackdown on Tornado Cash was meant to stop criminals. But a lot of ordinary crypto investors with honest intentions are now at risk.

“Every U.S. person is going to have to be very careful about transacting with Tornado Cash,” said Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs at research firm TRM Labs, in an interview. “Remember, sanctions are strict liability. Intent does not matter.”

Tornado Cash is used by some people as a legitimate way to protect their privacy in the still nascent crypto market. When a buyer pays for something using a crypto wallet, the recipient of the transfer has access to the purchaser’s public crypto wallet, showing account details and history.

Using a crypto mixing service like Tornado Cash masks those details by anonymizing the funds and concealing the identity of the buyer.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/08/tornado-cash-crackdown-by-treasury-punishes-honest-crypto-investors.html