The native token of Tornado Cash, known as TORN, experienced a significant surge in value following a recent court decision overturning U.S. Treasury sanctions on the crypto mixing platform. Initially, the token was trading at approximately $9.50 on January 22. It then surged by 140%, reaching beyond $25 as investors reacted to the news. Currently, the token has stabilized at $17.
Tornado Cash's legal troubles began in August 2022 when the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned it, alleging its misuse by the Lazarus Group, a notorious organization linked to North Korea, to launder over $455 million in stolen cryptocurrencies. Following these allegations, developer Alex Pertsev was arrested in The Netherlands, charged with money laundering, found guilty, and sentenced to five years in prison.
In August 2023, Roman Storm, the co-founder of Tornado Cash, was also arrested. He faced charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Storm maintains that he is being prosecuted for creating open-source software, with his trial set for April 14, 2025.
In response to the sanctions, a lawsuit was filed by six individuals, led by crypto advocate Joseph van Loon, against the U.S. Treasury, OFAC, former Secretary Janet Yellen, and OFAC Director Andrea Gacki. They contended that the sanctions were excessive, arguing that the crypto mixer, as software, should not be subject to such measures. The appellate court ruled in November 2024 that Tornado Cash's smart contracts could not be considered "property" under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as OFAC claimed. The court emphasized that such smart contracts operate autonomously without any human control.
The latest court decision reaffirms the November ruling. Although it does not affect ongoing criminal proceedings against Storm and co-founder Roman Semenov, who remains at large, the legal win is significant for Tornado Cash.
In the wake of the favorable court ruling, the TORN token experienced a rapid increase in value, peaking at $25.28 according to CoinGecko.
Now settled at $17.00, the token's value remains a remarkable 122% higher than the previous week and an 88% increase from the last 30 days. TORN's market capitalization has surpassed $68 million, far outpacing the broader cryptocurrency market, which saw a modest 1.8% rise during the same period.
This development highlights TORN's dynamic market behavior in response to legal and regulatory outcomes.