The coin mixer Tornado Cash won the lawsuit perfectly! Texas court: US Treasury Department can no longer impose sanctions

The U.S. District Court in Texas has ruled that the crypto mixing protocol Tornado Cash can no longer be sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, drawing a conclusion to this controversial lawsuit that has lasted nearly two years.

The ruling is also seen as an important victory for crypto privacy technology and will have a key impact on future U.S. crypto regulation.

Court Rules: OFAC Sanctions Exceed Authority

U.S. District Judge Robert Robert Pitman ruled this week that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)'s sanctions on Tornado Cash are "illegal and invalid", formally prohibiting the agency from imposcinging sanctions in the future.

The case originated from OFAC first listing Tornado Cash's smart contracts on the sanctions list in 2022, sparking strong bacfrom the crypto from the crypto and open In December last year, case was supported by the U..Appeals Court, which at the time determined that OFAC's action "exceeded congressional authorization".

However, OFAC quietly removed Tornado Cash from the sanctions list in March without clearly promising not to re-sanction in the future, leaving ambiguous space and prompting six plaintiffs to continue pursuing the case. The Treasury Department's lawyers even argued that since OFAC voluntarily revoked sanctions on Tornado Cash before the district court's final judgment (but after the appeals court ruling), the case should be considered without legal controversy and no longer requiring review.

Further Reading: Tornado Cash Controversy Continues? Coinbasebase Angr:ily Blasts: U.S. Treasury Blurs, handling, Evades Ruling

「」Court Complete RevOcation of Sanctions

For the plaintiffs, this controversy was far from over. On April 21, 21, the plaintiffs' lawyers submitted court documents, harshly criticizing OFAC's chaotic response to the appeals court ruling,, describing their actions as "a textbook of chaos" and angrily denouncing their last-minute waving of an "-flag" in an attempt to dodge an unfjudgment.

The court ultimately adopted the the plaintiffs' perspective, clearly stating that the case has not lost its controversy, and that OFAC not only did not guarantee no further sanctions but also indicated that they might take similar sanctions in the future.

Judge Pitman was stern in the ruling, stating that these sanctions should be revoked and must not be implemented again.

Unlike acknowledging the Fifth Circuit Court's order to lift sanctions, the defendants argued that they exercised discretionary rights based on general policy and legal considerations.

<><> <: h3>DOJ Stance

Shortly before the ruling was published, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) also released signals of an internal policy. change. Deputy Deputy Todd Blanche issued a memorandum to all prosecutors earlier this month, requesting the DOJ to stop prosecuting "non-malicious violation" cases involving platforms, crypto mixing tools, cold waland review whether ongoing litigation that does not meet the new standards should.already impacted other cases. For the criminal charges against samodevelopersurai Both wallet, prosecution and requested an extensionension of time to clarify whether the DO. TheeFalso a to.senior officials, calling for an immediate termination of the prosecution against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm.

Open Source Development Rights Battle Comes to an End?

Despite Tornado Cash being officially removed from sanctions, developers Roman Storm and Roman Semenov still face criminal charges from theJ money laundering and unauthorized financial services, with the latter still still on OFAC's sanctions list. This highlights that even with sanctions lifted, legal risks related to for open software developers have not completely dissipated.

However, the court signal's ruling signals that if government agencies intend to impose sanctions on open source protocols in the future, they will face higher legal barriers. For the crypto industry, crypto industry privacy values, an this is not just a victory tornado an important affirmation.