Not so long ago, cryptocurrencies were the way to conduct anonymous transactions. With so-called ‘mixers’ you can even take this one step further. But governments are not exactly happy about that, and today they are taking big steps to ensure that the crypto industry is not rife with crime. Now the United States has blacklisted a mixer.
Another bitcoin mixer banned in the US
The US Treasury Department announced this in a press release. It is now prohibited for all residents of the United States to use Tornado Cash, a popular mixer. It’s not the first time a mixer has been banned, not even in the US. In May, Blender.io was banned after it became clear that the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group was making frequent use of it.
Several other countries have not been particularly hospitable to mixers in the past, but the US has been very tolerant for a relatively long time. But Tornado Cash was also often used by Lazarus Group, among others, according to the US Department. For example, 41% of the tokens from the Axie Infinity hack are said to have been laundered with Tornado Cash, according to an analysis by Elliptic Connect. In total, about 625 million dollars in coins were stolen in that hack.
Gdire consequences for BTC privacy
By simply banning the mixer, the government can prevent criminals from obscuring transactions on blockchains, making them untrackable. The government wants to be able to monitor transactions properly to make crime less attractive.
But at the same time, this has major consequences for privacy – you don’t really have that anymore. CoinDesk writes that it was inevitable that the government would take steps.
Many European countries have been a little more progressive in this regard. As early as 2019, the Dutch FIOD, together with Interpol, took Bestmixer.io off the air.
What do you think of these steps? Is the massive invasion of your privacy a violation of something you are entitled to, or is the government’s choice understandable? Tell us on Discord!
