Last week we covered news that the US Treasury Department had sanctioned Ethereum's controversial transaction mixer, Tornado Cash, for allegedly enabling money laundering.

This was only the second time the US government has taken such an action against a crypto mixing site.

However, a deep analysis of blockchain transaction data is showing the platform was mostly used for completely legal activities...

In fact, just over 30% of the funds sent to that protocol were used for money laundering, at least according to one blockchain analytics firm. 

Slowmist, which included their findings in a report on blockchain security, using the first 6 months of 2022, they found Tornado Cash received total deposits of 955,277 ETH (worth $1.7 Billion at current prices), with 300,160 ETH being related to potential illegal activity. 

This means that there's no (known) legal issues with approximately 70% of the operations of the platform.

If you read the US Treasury Department's press release announcing the sanction against Tornado Cash, you would have the impression that the site was built for, and only used for illegal purposes.  They described it as “A virtual currency mixer that launders the proceeds of cybercrimes, including those committed against victims in the United States."

For some perspective: If true, the study shows Tornado Cash may equally as popular with criminals as printed US Currency...

If we go by the estimates of Harvard University Professor of Economics Kenneth Rogoff - up to 34% of printed money is currently being used to facilitate illegal transactions.

But if I had to guess what primary factor was in the US government deciding to officially act against Tornado Cash, it would be the news that North Korean hackers, aka the 'Lazarus Group' were also using the mixer to launder crypto the have been obtaining through various, always illegal methods. 

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Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
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