US Court Blocks OFAC from Reinstating Sanctions on Tornado Cash

A US federal court has prohibited the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury from reinstating or imposing renewed sanctions against the Tornado Cash service.

The decision by federal judge Robert Pitman responds to a lawsuit by users of the mixer, led by Joseph Van Loon, who called the restrictions “illegal.”

Tornado Cash fell under OFAC sanctions in August 2022 due to its role in money laundering. According to US authorities, since the service’s inception, over $7 billion has been laundered through it. Notably, North Korean hacker group Lazarus used Tornado Cash.

All company assets, user funds, and source code were blocked, and American residents and citizens were prohibited from using the service.

On January 21, 2025, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the sanctions due to “overreach” by OFAC and sent the case to the Western District of Texas for further proceedings.

In March, the agency removed over 100 Ethereum addresses of the crypto mixer from the “blacklist.”

Earlier in 2024, jurisdictions and entities from OFAC’s sanctions lists received $15.8 billion through cryptocurrency transactions.