A handful of Democratic U.S. representatives are criticizing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen over the continued accessibility of Tornado Cash, an Ethereum (ETH)-based coin-mixing system that helps users hide their digital assets.
The US approved the controversial project in 2022 on national security grounds, but seven members of the House of Representatives wrote to Yellen last week requesting information about the mixer and its current use.
The group of lawmakers, including outspoken anti-crypto critic Brad Sherman (D-California), says Tornado Cash has remained online and continued to function as decentralized smart contracts despite the sanctions.
“Tornado Cash’s US website has been taken offline, although the smart contracts can run indefinitely and anyone can technically use Tornado Cash at any time. The user-friendly website made it easier to use the service, although “advanced” users can still access the smart contracts directly, the Justice Department said.
Cryptocurrency mixers pose serious national security risks and are used by a variety of illicit actors, including North Korea, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). As the Treasury Department has noted, under the pressure of US and United Nations sanctions, North Korea has resorted to illegal activities, including cyber robberies of cryptocurrency exchanges and financial institutions, to generate revenue for its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic weapons. rocket programs. North Korean hackers have stolen more than $3.6 billion in cryptocurrency since 2017, according to UN sanctions experts.”
Lawmakers have asked the Treasury Department to provide estimates of the level of illegal and legitimate activity channeled through Tornado Cash since August 2022. They also ask whether the Treasury Department takes action against individuals and/or crypto exchanges that accept mixed funds from the platform.
One of Tornado Cash’s founders, Roman Storm, was arrested last year and charged with laundering $1 billion in criminal proceeds, including hundreds of millions of dollars for the Lazarus Group, the sanctioned North Korean cybercriminal organization.
Storm’s trial was recently postponed from December to April 2025.
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