US authorities claim that the Lazarus Group of North Korea used Tornado to launder money obtained from significant cryptocurrency hacks.
Digital Desk: The US Treasury Department placed penalties on the cryptocurrency mixer on Tuesday, which resulted in a sharp decline in the value of Tornado Cash's token, TORN.
TORN fell by 24 percent to $22 during Asian hours, according to CoinGecko data.Since its peak in February 2021, the token's value has decreased by 95%.
On Tuesday, major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether had lower losses, falling by about 1%.
The native token of Tornado Cash is TORN. This well-known cryptocurrency service enables users to conceal their transactions by combining money from many sources before sending it to the intended recipient. This functionality has made it a popular tool for hackers and criminals to launder money that has been taken or obtained illegally.
US authorities claim that the Lazarus Group of North Korea used Tornado to launder money obtained from significant cryptocurrency hacks.
Security companies claim that Tornado Cash was also used to hide money taken from the $600 million Ronin Bridge hack in March and the $100 million Harmony Bridge exploit in June.
Since Tornado Cash launched in 2019, data from Dune Analytics reveals that about $7.6 billion has been sent over the service. Elliptic, a forensics company, estimates that around $1.54 billion of the funds come from illicit activity.
In a previous interview, Roman Semenov, one of the Tornado Cash founders, claimed that because of the way decentralized protocols are created, it is "technically impossible" to impose penalties against them.
It may be mentioned that in May, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on another crypto asset mixer called Blender.
Continue Reading
