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The U.S. Treasury announced on March 21, 2025, that it had removed economic sanctions against Tornado Cash. The move followed a November 2024 appeals-court ruling that the mixer’s immutable smart contracts could not be blocked as foreign property under the law Treasury had used. Neither event declared every use of crypto mixers lawful, and Treasury said it remained concerned about illicit finance.
What changed, and when?
- August 8, 2022: The Treasury Department designated Tornado Cash for sanctions. Treasury described it as an Ethereum-based mixer that combines transactions before transmitting funds, obscuring their origin, destination, and counterparties. Treasury said the service had been used to launder more than $7 billion in virtual currency since its creation in 2019, including more than $455 million stolen by the DPRK-linked Lazarus Group. Those figures are Treasury’s published claims, not independently audited totals. Treasury’s 2022 announcement
- November 26, 2024: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts were not “property” of a foreign national or entity under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and therefore could not be blocked under that statute on the theory used. The court reversed and remanded, directing the lower court to grant the plaintiffs partial summary judgment under the Administrative Procedure Act. Fifth Circuit opinion
- March 21, 2025: Treasury said it had exercised its discretion to remove the economic sanctions after an administration review of novel legal and policy issues involving financial sanctions and evolving technology. Treasury also referred to its filing earlier that week in Van Loon v. Department of the Treasury. Treasury’s delisting announcement
What did the Fifth Circuit actually decide?
The ruling was about the reach of IEEPA: whether immutable smart contracts could count as blockable property under the statute. Writing for the court, Judge Don R. Willett stated: “Until then, we hold that Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts (the lines of privacy-enabling software code) are not the ‘property’ of a foreign national or entity, meaning (1) they cannot be blocked under IEEPA, and (2) OFAC overstepped its congressionally defined authority.” Fifth Circuit opinion
The court expressly did not decide whether Tornado Cash qualified as an entity or whether it held an interest in the contracts. Its decision was therefore a statutory ruling about immutable code—not a blanket ruling that crypto mixers, Tornado Cash, or every transaction involving them are lawful.
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Does delisting mean Tornado Cash is legal again?
Not by itself. Treasury’s announcement establishes that it removed economic sanctions; it does not establish that every use of Tornado Cash is lawful, resolve all legal questions about the service, or say that separate criminal proceedings ended. The court’s decision likewise addressed the statutory treatment of immutable contracts, rather than granting general approval to crypto mixing.
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Treasury said it remained deeply concerned about state-sponsored hacking and money laundering connected to North Korea. It said it would keep monitoring transactions that might benefit malicious cyber actors or the DPRK and continue using its authorities against such actors. In its March 21, 2025, statement, Treasury said: “We remain deeply concerned about the significant state-sponsored hacking and money laundering campaign aimed at stealing, acquiring, and deploying digital assets for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Kim regime.” Treasury’s delisting announcement
How is the sanctions action different from the criminal case?
Sanctions against Tornado Cash and criminal charges against named individuals are separate government actions, with different legal questions and records.
| Issue | Tornado Cash sanctions | Criminal charges |
|---|---|---|
| What was targeted? | The Treasury Department’s economic sanctions designation of Tornado Cash. | Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, who were charged by the Department of Justice in August 2023. |
| What legal question? | Whether Treasury could block immutable smart contracts as property under IEEPA. | Alleged individual conduct involving conspiracy to commit money laundering, sanctions violations, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. |
| What do the cited government actions establish? | Treasury announced removal of the economic sanctions on March 21, 2025. Treasury announcement | DOJ announced the charges in August 2023 and said the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The cited announcements do not establish the current status of every related proceeding. DOJ charging announcement |
Treasury’s delisting statement does not say that the DOJ case ended or resolve its status. A change to a sanctions designation should not be read as a dismissal of allegations against individuals.
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What the announcement does—and does not—establish
- Established: Treasury announced on March 21, 2025, that it had removed economic sanctions after reviewing legal and policy issues.
- Established: The Fifth Circuit held that the immutable smart contracts at issue were not blockable property under IEEPA on the theory used.
- Not established by these announcements: That all activity involving Tornado Cash is lawful, that illicit-finance concerns have disappeared, or that every related criminal proceeding has concluded.
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