Judge favors Treasury in Coinbase-backed lawsuit over Tornado Cash sanctions
A district court judge sided with the U.S. Treasury Department in a lawsuit that involves Coinbase and sanctions imposed on crypto mixer Tornado Cash. The decision came as a blow to six plaintiffs who had challenged the agency’s authority in imposing the sanctions on Tornado Cash last year. Tornado Cash is a software, plaintiffs say According to an Aug. 17 filing, district court Judge Robert Pitman granted a summary judgment in favor of the Treasury Department, thereby rejecting the motion brought forward by plaintiffs Joseph Van Loon, Tyler Almeida, Alexander Fisher, Preston Van Loon, Kevin Vitale, and Nate Welch. These individuals had contested the Treasury Department’s authority, alleging that it exceeded its bounds by sanctioning Tornado Cash. This comes after the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had categorized Tornado Cash as a Specially Designated Nationals, preventing individuals and businesses within the U.S. from having fin...