- The United States Treasury yesterday imposed a ban on Tornado Cash and related ETH addresses
- Tornado Cash is the crypto mixing service favorited by Lazarus Group, recruited by an oppressive regime
- The North Korean organized crime unit is responsible for stealing over $7B since 2019
The crypto mixing service Tornado Cash has been at the center of attention on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) recently, as many crypto experts and enthusiasts are participating in a heated debate over yesterday’s ban by the U.S. Treasury.
The Tornado Cash sanctions are the first to be applied to a decentralised protocol. This prompts important questions about how such sanctions would work and how they can be complied with. Some of which we answer here: https://t.co/iYW7sXkk0Z— elliptic (@elliptic) August 9, 2022
While waiting on the grand launch of the highly anticipated ETH 2.0 update, Ethereum’s founder Vitalik Buterin joined the ongoing debate along with Jeff Coleman, a crypto analyst and Ethereum (ETH) holder. “Wanting to donate to Ukraine is a great example of a valid need for financial privacy,” says Mr. Coleman. In addition, he politely requested a “documented example” of such a case from the Twitter community. One of the most influential people in the crypto world, Vitalik Buterin, responded: “I’ll out myself as someone who has used TC to donate to this exact cause.”
I'll out myself as someone who has used TC to donate to this exact cause.— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 9, 2022
Ukraine Prefers Crypto Donations
Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Alex Bornyakov, has recently stated that cryptocurrency donations are a vital part of the defense mechanism against the abusive neighbor. When compared to donations sent through banks, crypto payments give “flexibility and speed that saves our soldiers’ lives,” says the Minister.
However, it is as clear as mud as to what extent Tornado Cash plays a part in overall crypto donations to Ukraine and whether the privacy provided by blockchain is enough to conceal sensitive information from the enemy.
Despite the "bear market" crypto has become an essential tool of Ukraine's defence, providing flexibility and speed that literally saved our soldiers' lives. Every "crypto winter" leads to a "crypto spring", but the industry is here to stay. https://t.co/Zhu93vso5T— Alex Bornyakov (@abornyakov) July 26, 2022
Those suffering most from North Korean hackers, enabled by Tornado Cash, are the cross-chain bridges. For instance, the Ronin bridge saw a hack of over $600 million, the biggest crypto hack to date. Furthermore, the freshly hacked Nomad and Harmony bridges set their users aback over $290 million, all of it to blame on Lazarus Group. Not to mention, the North Korean hackers attempted to drain the DeBridge just two days ago, but with no success.
On the Flipside
- Despite providing privacy, Tornado Cash is the go-to service for cybercriminals.
- The U.S. Treasury is mostly concerned about the funding of nuclear tests.
- According to Chainalysis, Tornado Cash was used in every attack by Lazarus Group so far in 2022.
Learn more about how to donate crypto to the Ukrainian Army directly
Learn more about Harmony Bridge’s $100M hack carried out by Lazarus Group
Read more about the barbarous regime’s unlucky attempt to drain the DeBridge