The popular cryptocurrency ‘mixer’ is a common tool of hackers.
The price of Bitcoin has remained stable and consolidated between 22,500 and 24,500 dollars for a few weeks, and apparently, it is not affected by the negative news that continues to be present in the crypto space, nor by the actions of world regulators.
In particular, the US authorities tighten the fence on companies that offer services related to cryptocurrencies. This Monday, specifically, actions have been taken against the cryptocurrency ‘mixer’ Tornado Cash.
The US Treasury Department has sanctioned the popular cryptocurrency mixer for its alleged use by the notorious North Korean hacker group and other actors to launder cryptocurrency.
“Despite public assurances otherwise, Tornado Cash has repeatedly failed to impose effective controls designed to stop it from laundering funds for malicious cyber actors on a regular basis and without basic measures to address its risks,” Brian Nelson, Treasury Sub-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
About Tornado Cash
This tool is used by some people as a legitimate way to protect their privacy in the still nascent cryptocurrency market. Typically, when a buyer pays for something using a cryptocurrency wallet, the recipient of the transfer has access to the wallet, displaying account details and history.
Using a cryptocurrency mixing service like Tornado Cash masks those details, anonymizes the funds, and hides the identity of the buyer.
Tornado Cash Current Situation
Sanctions won’t likely stop Tornado Cash itself from operating. A few days ago, co-founder Roman Semenov asserted that the privacy service was designed to operate without centralized control. While he and his team write and publish code, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has to approve any changes before they are made.
“The protocol was specifically designed this way to be unstoppable because it wouldn’t make much sense if some third party [such as a developer] would have control over it. This would be the same as if someone had control over Bitcoin or Ethereum,” he further explained.
The price action of the main tokens does not seem to have suffered after this news. Bitcoin remains hovering above $24,000, following Monday’s highs above this price level, while Ethereum also has $1,800 within its grasp. Total capitalization stands at over $1.1 trillion.
“Sentiment seems to be changing among cryptocurrency traders and all of this is mainly due to one fundamental reason, and that is that institutions are still very interested in bitcoin,” says Avatrade analyst Naeem Aslam, “and they don’t want to waste the current opportunity to pocket Bitcoin while it’s cheap,” he adds.
The expert points out that the proof of this is that BlackRock has decided to use Coinbase to offer cryptocurrencies to its clients. “This particular piece of news couldn’t be bigger, and it shows that despite all the blowouts in the crypto yield market, smart money is an asset class to get involved in, as the risk to reward is very motivating,” says Aslam.
By Audy Castaneda
