Exchange of cryptocurrencies Coinbase Global Inc COIN funding a lawsuit against the United States financial department for its sanctions against coin mixers Tornado Cash TORN/USDaccording to a report by CNBC.
What happened: The lawsuit, filed by six plaintiffs, including Coinbase employees, argues that the sanctions imposed on the decentralized privacy protocol were an overrun by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and calls for the platform’s smart contracts to be delisted be deleted.
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“We saw that as a much bigger problem. It sets a dangerous precedent — if this code can be established without legal boundaries, any technology, tool, or system could be fair game,” Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer said. Paul Grewal, said CNBC.
In August, the US Treasury sanctioned the Ether-based ETH/USD Coin Mixer for its alleged role in helping hackers launder stolen cryptocurrency. OFAC claimed the service was used to launder over $7 billion worth of digital assets, of which $455 million was laundered by North Korean support Lazarus group by hackers.
Grewal likened Tornado Cash’s sanctioning to police banning all use of a freeway while chasing armed robbers down it. He said Coinbase intends to pay plaintiffs’ attorneys and other legal fees.
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Price promotion: Coinbase shares traded 0.082% lower after the close, according to data from Gasoline Pro. ETH is trading at $1,634 at press time, down 0.93% in 24 hours. Tornado Cash’s native token, TORN, traded at $9.58, up 17% over the same period.
