U.S. Congressman Demands Explanations from Janet Yellen Over Tornado Cash

Representative Tom Emmer, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, demanded explanations regarding the sanctions imposed on the Tornado Cash mixer.

I sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Yellen regarding the unprecedented sanctioning of Tornado Cash. The growing adoption of decentralized technology will certainly raise new challenges for OFAC. Nonetheless, technology is neutral and the expectation of privacy is normal.⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0aN4a4A6tb

— Tom Emmer (@RepTomEmmer) August 23, 2022

“The growing adoption of decentralized technologies will undoubtedly pose new challenges for OFAC. However, technology is neutral, and the expectation of privacy is normal,” the congressman wrote.

According to him, the sanctions against the mixer are unique in that they are imposed not on a physical person or a legal entity, but on the privacy-preserving code.

«The backend will continue to function as an anonymity-preserving technology as long as the Ethereum network operates. Who, or which organization, in OFAC’s view, is responsible for imposing control over Tornado Cash’s blockchain contracts?», — asked Emmer.

Earlier, the decentralised autonomous organization Tornado DAO urged the community to hire a team of lawyers to challenge the service’s blocking.

Later, the crypto-industry-focused rights advocacy group Coin Center said it intended to challenge the U.S. restrictions.

Earlier, Tom Emmer described the sanctions against Tornado Cash as unprecedented and a threat to privacy and innovation.

Similar views were expressed by Kraken CEO Jesse Powell.

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