The Blockchain Association files new amicus briefs to support Tornado Cash’s defense
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The Blockchain Association said June 2 that it filed an amicus brief in support of a CoinCenter case defending coin mixer Tornado Cash.
Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said:
“… Tornado Cash is simply a tool – punishing the tool itself just because it can be used by anyone, including bad actors, is against the values [the U.S.] was founded on.”
Smith said the Blockchain Association “stands with Coin Center” and added that her group supports the “responsible and legal” use of blockchain technology.
Software cannot be sanctioned
Marisa Tashman Coppel, policy advisor for the Blockchain Association, further commented, claims that the Treasury and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) could not legally sanction software such as Tornado Cash.
She argued that OFAC could only sanction persons and property. She explained that Tornado Cash is not property because it is not owned by any entity, and said that this argument holds even if Tornado Cash’s DAO is considered a person. Tornado Cash is “totally different” from its DAO and would exist without the DAO, she claimed.
Copel said OFAC violated free speech and due process by sanctioning the Tornado Cash coin mixer protocol and failed to give fair notice to people who used the service before imposing restrictions.
Treasury and OFAC will respond before the court issues a ruling.
Two Tornado Cash lawsuits are pending
The Blockchain Association’s brief concerns Coin Center’s lawsuit against OFAC and in defense of Tornado Cash. That lawsuit was started in October 2022.
CoinCenter’s lawsuit followed an earlier case in September 2022 in which six people, including Ethereum developer Preston Van Loon, Joseph Van Loon, and two Coinbase employees, filed suit against OFAC’s handling of Tornado Cash.
The Blockchain Association also filed an amicus brief in support of Van Loon et al. in April. Coppel said the Blockchain Association made similar arguments in both briefs.
Plaintiffs in Van Loon et al. submitted further arguments on 24 May 2023.
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