Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Challenges Indictment of Tornado Cash Developers, Questions Money-Transmitting Violations
Summary:
Crypto advocacy group Coin Center criticizes Tornado Cash developers' indictment, arguing it lacks evidence of money-transmitting violations. Coin Center points out that Tornado Cash provides software for money transmission, not the actual transmission. They also question the facts presented in the indictment, citing interpretations by FinCEN that state anonymizing software providers are not money transmitters. The outcome of this case could impact the legal rights of U.S. citizens to build and publish software.
Crypto advocacy group Coin Center has criticized the recent indictment of two former Tornado Cash developers, arguing that the evidence provided does not clearly demonstrate any violations of money-transmitting-related offenses. Coin Center research director Peter Van Valkenburgh argues that the claims in the indictment seem to contradict guidance from the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. He points out that Tornado Cash only provides software for money transmission, rather than transmitting the money itself. Valkenburgh questions whether the indictment actually presents any facts that show the defendants engaged in activities that qualify as money transmission. He refers to interpretations by FinCEN that state an anonymizing software provider is not a money transmitter. Valkenburgh also criticizes the claims in the indictment that suggest the developers had complete control over the protocol's smart contracts, arguing that Ethereum smart contracts can vary in terms of control. Coin Center previously opposed the U.S. Treasury in a lawsuit over the sanctioning of Tornado Cash. The indictment accuses Storm and Semenov of running an unlicensed money transmission service. Semenov was added to OFAC's list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, while Storm was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Coin Center believes the outcome of the Tornado Cash case will have significant implications for the legal rights of U.S. citizens to build and publish software.
Published At
8/24/2023 2:51:54 AM
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