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OFAC’s Tornado cash Ban Causes Github Suspensions, and the Blacklisting of Crypto addresses Holding $437M

OFAC's Tornado Cash Ban Causes Github Suspensions and the Blacklisting of Crypto Addresses Holding $437M

On 8 August, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control banned Tornado Cash and all associated crypto addresses. Github, an internet hosting platform for open-source code development and software, has suspended some contributors to Tornado Cash commits.

Tornado Cash Github Contributors Suspended from Github, Blacklisted ERC20s Left to Liquidity Providers

Tornado cash has been a hot topic in the cryptocurrency world since Monday’s ban by the U.S government on the privacy-enhancing ethereum-mixing service. Although the U.S. Treasury Department’s watchdog OFAC didn’t disclose why Tornado Cash was banned, it is believed that it was because of the North Korean hacking group known as Lazarus Group.

My @GitHub account was just suspended

Is it illegal to write open-source code now?

— Roman Semenov (@semenov_roman_) August 8, 2022

Lazarus Group associates are alleged to have used Tornado Cash for mixing funds. On April 15, 2022, the official Tornado Cash Twitter account explained that it had blocked flagged ethereum addresses listed on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons list (SDN). According to the project’s social media accounts, “Tornado cash uses [a] Chainalysis contract to prevent OFAC sanctioned addresses accessing the dapp.” The Tornado Cash Twitter account has added

Maintaining financial privacy is essential to preserving our freedom, however, it should not come at the cost of non-compliance.

Now reports reveal that some commits to the Tornado cash codebase on Github were deleted and their Github accounts suspended. Tornado Cash’s founder, Roman Semenov, explained that his Github account was suspended. “My Github account has been suspended. Semenov asked, “Is writing open source code now illegal?” According to a Twitter user dubbed “Bowtiediguana,” all the addresses OFAC associated with Tornado Cash hold roughly $437 million in stablecoins like USDC and USDT, alongside ETH and WBTC as well.

Circle just frozen 75,000 USDC belonging to unsuspecting Tornado users, as well as 149 USDC donated to the project. pic.twitter.com/GBS41FtZvB

— banteg (@bantg) August 8, 2022

Circle has blacklisted all US Dollar Coin (USDC), associated with the Tornado Cash platform. Bowtiediguana expects Tether and Bitgo, the custodian of WBTC, to do the same thing, as these ERC20 tokens can be frozen at the smart contract level. The defi educator also expects the ERC20 custodians like Bitgo to “suspend redemptions of the tainted WBTC, rendering those tokens worthless.” Bowtiediguana added:

Liquidity providers will likely end up as bagholders for blocked WBTC (and stablecoin) assets if they do not pull liquidity from DEX *immediately*.

Ethereum Advocate Says OFAC Ban Was Big Brother’s Attack on Crypto ‘

Another thing that happened was that a lot of crypto community members talked about the U.S government’s actions after the ban. “I’m sure the bad guys will stop using Tornado Cash because it’s ‘illegal,'” Shapeshift founder Erik Voorhees wrote. “Just as they don’t use illegal weaponry, smuggle illicit drugs, or illegally laundering money through any means they can find. Voorhees said that only law-abiding Americans were affected by the ban. Ryan Adams, an Ethereum proponent, called the ban an attack against crypto.

The outlawing of Tornado Cash and freezing of $USDC infuriates me.

It’s a battle between the state, and our financial freedom at the moment. This is only the beginning, I fear.

We must fight for our freedom!

— Aku (@AkuRypto) August 8, 2022

“Today, US-approved Ethereum addresses were associated with a privacy service called Tornado Cash. Circle immediately frozen the USDC from those accounts. GitHub banned Tornado contributors. Adams stated that if you were looking for the opening shot in big brother’s attack on crypto, this was it. Crypto proponents discussed other ideas like decentralizing Github in a censorship-resistant fashion and others talked about creating “new instances of the Tornado contract.”

What do you think about OFAC banning the ethereum mixing application Tornado Cash? Please comment below to let us know your thoughts on this topic.

Jamie Redman

Jamie Redman, the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News, is a Florida-based financial journalist. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. Redman is passionate about Bitcoin, open-source codes, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 5,700 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. This article is not intended to be a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any products or services. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. The author and the company are not responsible for any loss or damage resulting from or in connection to the content, goods, or services discussed in this article.

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Ethereum

Ethereum Bulls Face $185M in Liquidations as ETH Price Slumps to 2-Month Low

Amid the broader market’s correction yet again today, ETH’s price has taken a major hit and tumbled below $3,000 for the first time since early November.

This has caused a lot of liquidations for over-leveraged bulls, with the number skyrocketing to nearly $200 million only for ETH-related positions.

ETHUSD. Source: TradingView
ETHUSD. Source: TradingView

As the graph above demonstrates, the second-largest cryptocurrency broke above $3,000 after the US elections in early November and didn’t look back for the next two months.

Moreover, the asset peaked at just over $4,100 on December 16, but that was as far as it could go. During the end-of-the-year crash, ETH slumped to $3,100 but managed to defend the $3,000 support.

It bounced off and went on the offensive at the start of 2025. Its yearly peak came on January 7 when it jumped to $3,750. However, that’s when the landscape took a turn for the worse, and ETH, alongside the rest of the market, started to plunge.

The subsequent rejection drove Ethereum’s price to $3,300, where it spent most of the next few days. However, another leg down initiated by the bears today pushed it south even further, and it slipped below $3,000 minutes ago for the first time since early November.

ETH is down by precisely 20% since its January 7 high (or $750 in USD perspective). Today’s drop was particularly painful for over-leveraged traders with long positions, as the total such liquidations has gone up to $185 million, according to CoinGlass.

In fact, ETH’s liquidations have surpassed even those for BTC, whose price tumbled from $96,000 earlier this morning to under $90,000 briefly.

Liquidation Heat Map. Source: CoinGlass
Liquidation Heat Map. Source: CoinGlass
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Ethereum

Post-US Election Honeymoon Ends as Macroeconomic Data Drives Markets

Digital asset investment products saw modest inflows of $48 million last week. While nearly $1 billion flowed in during the early part of the week, outflows of $940 million in the latter half reversed much of the gains. This shift followed the release of new macroeconomic data and the Federal Reserve’s minutes, which signaled a stronger US economy and a more hawkish stance.

According to CoinShares, this could indicate that the post-US election honeymoon has ended, with macroeconomic indicators regaining their influence on asset prices.

Modest Inflows Amid Renewed Macroeconomic Concerns

The latest edition of ‘Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report’ revealed that Bitcoin attracted $214 million in inflows last week, maintaining its lead as the best-performing digital asset with $799 million in inflows year-to-date, despite also seeing the largest outflows later in the week. Inflows to short Bitcoin products stood at $1.8 million.

Ethereum, on the other hand, struggled the most, with $256 million flowing out, which CoinShares attributes to a general tech sector downturn rather than asset-specific concerns. Solana, by contrast, remained strong, pulling in $15 million in new investments.

XRP amassed significant inflows of $41 million last week, driven largely by political and legal developments. The inflows reflect growing optimism as the January 15th SEC appeal deadline approaches.

Multi-asset products followed suit with $21.1 million in inflows. Interestingly, altcoins attracted investments despite lackluster price performance. Leading the way were Aave, Stellar, and Polkadot, which recorded inflows of $2.9 million, $2.7 million, and $1.6 million, respectively. Additionally, Cardano, Litecoin, and Chainlink also saw inflows of $1.2 million, $0.7 million, and $0.4 million, respectively, during the same period.

Switzerland Tops Outflows

In terms of geography, the US stood out with $79 million in inflows, followed by Germany with $52.4 million over the past week. Canada, Brazil, and Australia also observed inflows of $37.1 million, $21.9 million, and $10.3 million, respectively.

Switzerland saw the highest outflow for the week, recording $85.3 million. A similar sentiment was seen across Hong Kong and Sweden as the two countries witnessed outflows of $36.6 million and $33.2 million, respectively.

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Ethereum

Ethereum Price Analysis: What’s Ahead for ETH After a 9% Weekly Dip?

Ethereum currently rests at a notable support region near $3.2K, with market participants closely observing the potential for a bullish rebound.

The Funding Rates metric offers valuable insights into the sentiment within the perpetual futures markets, helping to gauge the likelihood of a recovery.

Technical Analysis

By Shayan

The Daily Chart

Ethereum has seen consistent declines following its rejection at the $4K resistance level, indicating the dominance of sellers. Most recently, another sharp decline pushed the price toward a substantial support zone, defined by the 100-day moving average of $3.1K.

This dynamic support is critical as demand concentration near this region is expected to curb downward momentum, with a bullish rebound being plausible if buying interest emerges.

Currently, ETH is trapped between the 100-day MA ($3.1K) and the $3.5K resistance level, forming a tight consolidation range. A decisive move in either direction will likely determine the mid-term trend.

The 4-Hour Chart

On the 4-hour timeframe, Ethereum broke down from an ascending wedge pattern, a bearish structure that typically signals further declines. This breakdown triggered a swift sell-off, pushing the price toward a support zone defined by the 0.5-0.618 Fibonacci retracement levels.

This support zone has the potential to stabilize the price and possibly initiate a short-term bullish rebound. However, persistent bearish pressure could result in a break below this line, intensifying the downtrend.

If Ethereum breaches this critical support zone, it may trigger panic selling, further strengthening sellers’ dominance. Conversely, a sustained rebound could pave the way for a recovery toward the $3.5K resistance level.

Onchain Analysis

By Shayan

Examining the chart, the recent market correction has coincided with a significant decline in funding rates. This shift suggests growing bearish sentiment among speculators, with many traders betting on further decreases in ETH’s price.

However, upon reaching the substantial support zone at $3K, the Funding Rates metric has started to show signs of recovery. A notable bullish spike in the metric suggests an influx of buying interest as market participants begin to open long positions in anticipation of a price rebound.

If this recovery in funding rates continues, it could indicate sustained demand and the potential for a bullish rebound from the $3K support. On the other hand, if the current recovery loses momentum or reverses, it would signal a return to bearish sentiment, paving the way for a deeper correction.

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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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