The Blockchain Association has stepped up its backing for six plaintiffs challenging the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over its imposition of sanctions on Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer.
In a recent amicus brief submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals on November 20, the advocacy group contended that OFAC's move to sanction the privacy tool was not just illegal but also surpassed its prescribed authority. The group argued that such action was "arbitrary and capricious," thereby violating constitutional principles.
This marks the Blockchain Association's second amicus brief supporting a cluster of Tornado Cash users contesting a lower court's decision, which upheld OFAC's inclusion of the cryptocurrency mixer in its list of sanctioned entities. Marisa Coppel, a senior advisor at the Blockchain Association, emphasized the necessity for OFAC to focus on penalizing malicious actors rather than outright prohibiting tools over which it lacks authority.
Coppel highlighted, "OFAC needs to recognize Tornado Cash for what it truly is: a tool accessible to anyone." She emphasized that OFAC should redirect its attention to targeting those abusing such tools rather than sanctioning tools designed for legitimate purposes, a move that she perceives as threatening the privacy rights of law-abiding Americans.
The Blockchain Association's brief recommended that OFAC should adhere to legal parameters and pursue congressional approval if considering a ban on cryptocurrency mixers like Tornado Cash. It urged that seeking supplementary powers within the unique realm of decentralized digital assets should involve legislative steps rather than extending existing powers beyond their rightful scope.
The organization warned against an overarching power expansion, stating that such a move could potentially endanger various freely available internet-based tools that have existed thus far. The Blockchain Association has consistently argued that Tornado Cash operates independently, devoid of owners or operators, and functions autonomously without human intervention. OFAC initially sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, attributing the mixer to allegedly laundering over $7 billion since 2019, including $455 million linked to the North Korean-affiliated Lazarus Group.
