Fun

News Feed - 2023-11-15 04:11:40

Turner Wright4 hours agoTornado Cash users file appeal over judgment in favor of US TreasuryThe six individuals, supported by crypto exchange Coinbase, have taken a case involving the U.S. Treasury sanctioning Tornado Cash to federal appellate court.979 Total views10 Total sharesListen to article 0:00NewsJoin us on social networksA group of Tornado Cash users has filed an appeal in federal court following a ruling upholding the United States Treasury Department’s decision to add the cryptocurrency mixer to its list of sanctioned entities.


In a Nov. 13 filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, lawyers representing plaintiffs Joseph Van Loon, Tyler Almeida, Alexander Fisher, Preston Van Loon, Kevin Vitale and Nate Welch argued that the U.S. Treasury “stretched [its] authority beyond recognition” in sanctioning Tornado Cash transactions. The filing came in response to an August decision by a Texas federal judge who ruled the crypto mixer could be sanctioned under the regulatory purview of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.


“The district court erred by concluding that the Department satisfied three of the requirements for a designation under [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] and the North Korea Act,” said the Nov. 13 filing. “The Department’s action is contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority under the Administrative Procedure Act.”


According to the plaintiffs, smart contracts under Tornado Cash identified in the lawsuit were “immutable and ownerless” and failed to meet the U.S. Treasury’s regulatory definition of “property” subject to sanctions. The appeal also challenged the Treasury’s definition of “interest,” claiming Tornado Cash has no “legal, equitable, or beneficial interest” in users’ smart contracts.


The filing was the latest legal move in a lawsuit first filed by the six individuals in September 2022. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Tornado Cash to its Specially Designated Nationals list in August 2022, prompting criticism and outrage from many in the space.


Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said in a Nov. 13 X (formerly Twiter) thread that he supported the efforts of the plaintiffs, saying the appellate court would carefully consider the filing. The crypto exchange has been publicly supporting Van Loon and the other plaintiffs since the September 2022 lawsuit.Ordinary Americans do extraordinary and admirable things. With the support of @coinbase and many others, today the Loon plaintiffs took their case to the 5th Cir. to challenge sanctions against the ownerless, immutable software known as Tornado Cash. https://t.co/jALDHx950v 1/6— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) November 13, 2023


Crypto advocacy group Coin Center, which filed its own lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury over Tornado Cash in October 2022, similarly lost its case in Florida federal court. The group filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Nov. 6.


Related:Can crypto Privacy Pools help balance privacy and regulation?


U.S. authorities have also pursued criminal charges against individuals involved with Tornado Cash. In August, the Justice Department charged co-founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.


Storm was released on a $2-million bond following his arrest and pleaded not guilty to all charges in September, while Semenov was not in custody at the time of publication. Authorities in the Netherlands arrested Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Pertsev for similar charges related to money laundering in August 2022. He was released in April 2023 to await trial.


Magazine:Tornado Cash 2.0: The race to build safe and legal coin mixers# Law# United States# Court# Sanctions# Regulation# Tornado CashAdd reactionAdd reactionRead moreCan crypto Privacy Pools help balance privacy and regulation?How to manage crypto losses on tax returns in the US, UK and CanadaFederal judge gives Genesis 5 days to comply with Terraform Labs subpoena

News Feed

Ex-Bankers Offer First Hot Wallet for Institutional-Grade Crypto Finance
Trustology, the digital asset custody provider built by former bankers from UBS, BNY Mellon and Bank of America, has released a custodial wallet designed to brave the gamut of decentralized finance (DeFi).
Ninja Rage Quits Fortnite Over Mech Troubles, Jumps To Minecraft
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 10: Professional Twitch streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins has had enough of Fortnite, for now. . | Source Rey Del Rio/Getty Images/AFP By CCN Markets: Popular
Circle becomes first licensed stablecoin issuer under MiCA
Vince Quill7 hours agoCircle becomes first licensed stablecoin issuer under MiCACircle’s USDC and EURC stablecoins become the first fully compliant digital fiat tokens under the Markets in Crypto-Assets rules.5557 Tota
Will Dogecoin skyrocket 7 months after the Bitcoin halving again?
Zoltan Vardai3 hours agoWill Dogecoin skyrocket 7 months after the Bitcoin halving again?The top memecoins are far from previous highs, yet retail investors may view them as fairer opportunities than VC-backed coins with
US Senator Asks Coinbase, Gemini, Binance, Tether How They’re Protecting Consumers
US Senator Asks Coinbase, Gemini, Binance, Tether How They"re Protecting Consumers U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has sent letters to cryptocurrency exchanges and stablecoin issuers, i
Elon Musk’s first brain chip patient plays online chess with his mind
Tom Mitchelhill8 hours agoElon Musk’s first brain chip patient plays online chess with his mindThe first patient to be implanted with Musk’s Neuralink device described the experience as “using the force” to contr
Binance Officially Launches Crypto Exchange in New Zealand Following Regulatory Approval
Binance Officially Launches Crypto Exchange in New Zealand Following Regulatory Approval Binance has officially launched a cryptocurrency exchange in New Zealand after successfully
Earn Yield Farming Rewards with DeFi Yield Protocol (DYP)
Earn Yield Farming Rewards with DeFi Yield Protocol (DYP) PRESS RELEASE. DeFi Yield Protocol (DYP) is a decentralized yield farming platform that allows liquidit
Biggest Movers: DOGE, SHIB Fall to Lowest Levels Since January
Biggest Movers: DOGE, SHIB Fall to Lowest Levels Since January Dogecoin dropped to its lowest level since January, as a red wave swept through cryptocurrency markets. The Silvergat
US Lawmakers See China’s Authoritarian Crackdown on Crypto as Big Opportunity
US Lawmakers See China"s Authoritarian Crackdown on Crypto as Big Opportunity Several U.S. lawmakers see China’s authoritarian crackdown on cryptocurrency, including bitcoin
Caroline Ellison’s Testimony Claims FTX Boss SBF Directed Her to Co-Mingle Customer Funds Since 2019
Caroline Ellison"s Testimony Claims FTX Boss SBF Directed Her to Co-Mingle Customer Funds Since 2019 On Dec. 23, 2022, Matthew Russell Lee from the Inner City Press published the r
David Attlee3 minutes agoSpain launches AI regulation agency in bid to become industry leaderSpain has become one of the first countries in the European Union to establish its own task force for regulating Artificial Int