Ethereum

Stablecoin Issuer Tether Won’t Freeze Tornado Cash Addresses, Says Premature Freezing Could Jeopardize Investigations

Stablecoin Issuer Tether Won't Freeze Tornado Cash Addresses, Says Premature Freezing Could Jeopardize Investigations

While the crypto community is still talking about the U.S. government banning the ethereum mixing platform Tornado Cash, the stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings Limited revealed on Wednesday that the company would not “freeze Tornado Cash addresses.” Tether’s recently published blog post about the subject says the company is waiting for instructions from law enforcement.

Tether Has No Plans to Freeze Tornado Cash-Associated Private Wallets and Is Waiting to Hear From Law Enforcement Officials

On August 8, the U.S. Treasury Department’s financial watchdog, the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), banned the ethereum mixing application Tornado Cash and ever since then, OFAC’s sanctions enforcement has been met with controversy. Of course, OFAC’s actions caused a ripple effect and a number of companies like Circle Financial’s and Coinbase’s Centre consortium, Github, and Discord took action. For instance, developers were suspended from Github, the Tornado Cash Discord server was deleted, and reports noted that Centre blacklisted dozens of ethereum addresses and froze 75,000 USDC.

Tether Holds Firm on Decision Not To Freeze Tornado Cash Addresses, Awaits Law Enforcement Instruction https://t.co/zpsI9lKLlf

— Tether (@Tether_to) August 24, 2022

According to a blog post published by Tether Holdings Limited published 16 days after OFAC’s ban, the company explains that as of right now, it’s not freezing USDT assets held within the Tornado Cash mixer. Tether says the company works with law enforcement officials regularly and is in daily contact with “key law enforcement officers.” If a law enforcement official provides a legitimate request to freeze a private wallet, Tether “complies with the freeze,” but we do not freeze wallets of exchanges/services,” the company added.

Tether’s blog post continues:

So far, OFAC has not indicated that a stablecoin issuer is expected to freeze secondary market addresses that are published on OFAC’s SDN List or that are operated by persons and entities that have been sanctioned by OFAC. Further, no U.S. law enforcement agency or regulator has made such a request despite our near-daily contact with U.S. law enforcement whose requests always provide precise details.

Unilaterally Freezing Addresses Prematurely Could Be a Bad Move, Tether Says

Furthermore, Tether says that choosing to unilaterally freeze secondary market addresses very well “could be a highly disruptive and reckless move.” The company also detailed that there have been instances where law enforcement has told the company not to freeze suspected private wallets so the suspects of an investigation are not alerted and liquidate the funds. Tether’s blog post also calls out a number of stablecoin issuers like Paxos, a New York-based regulated company.

Tether said that Paxos did not freeze Tornado Cash wallets and the USDT’s issuer further noted that Makerdao, the issuer of the decentralized finance (defi) stablecoin DAI did not proceed with any type of freeze. However, Tether seems to disagree with the move made by USDC’s issuers. “We believe that, if made without instructions from US authorities, the move by USDC to blacklist Tornado Cash smart contracts was premature and might have jeopardized the work of other regulators and law enforcement agencies around the world,” the blog post on Wednesday added.

Tags in this story

Circle, DAI, Discord, ETH mixer, Ethereum Mixer, github, Law Enforcement, makerdao, Mixer, OFAC, OFAC’s SDN List, Paxos, Premature Freeze, Regulations, Sanctions, Stablecoin issuer, stablecoin issuers, Stablecoins, Tether, Tether Holdings, Tornado cash, U.S. Government, USDC, USDC Issuer, USDT

What do you think about Tether’s blog post that says it will not freeze USDT tied to Tornado Cash and that it is waiting for instructions from law enforcement? What do you think about the company’s commentary about USDC’s issuer blacklisting stablecoin wallets? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Jamie Redman

Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, 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. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Ethereum

Ethereum Traders Just Flipped Bullish, But History Says This Is a Major Red Flag

Ethereum’s bounce toward $3,500 triggered instant FOMO, but Santiment says extreme optimism usually means price is about to disappoint.

Ethereum traders have swung sharply from extreme bearishness to extreme bullishness within just a few days, based on social media sentiment.

But fresh data suggest that when ETH nearly rebounded to $3,500 on Thursday, the crowd interpreted the move as a confirmation that the asset was “back in business.”

ETH Trader FOMO

Santiment warned that this sudden pivot is similar to the same pattern seen earlier in the week, when retail panic selling actually contributed to the rebound. Now, the rapid return of FOMO could similarly stall further upside.

According to the analytics platform, prices have shown a tendency to move in the opposite direction of the crowd, and that more neutral sentiment phases have proven to be stronger buy signal environments than euphoric ones.

Crypto trader Ted Pillows also noted that even though the altcoin is showing some rebound after this week’s sharp decline, the recovery lacks conviction. According to Pillows, the current move higher, though modest, is being driven largely by short positions being closed rather than new spot buyers stepping in. He added that Ethereum needs to reclaim the $3,600-$3,700 price range with meaningful inflows to establish strength and dismiss the risk of further downside. Without that confirmation, Pillows believes the odds still favor lower prices from here.

Despite the near-term uncertainty, some traders say the bigger picture is still pointing toward a substantial upside scenario. For instance, crypto trader “Trader Tradigrade” said that ETH’s monthly chart is currently developing what he describes as a massive Inverse Head and Shoulders pattern, with a potential price target of $14,000 once confirmed.

“Wet Blanket” Phase

As the crypto market remains sluggish, Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz believes that this could be due to long-term holders rebalancing their net worths and diversifying away from massive concentrated holdings after a very long bull market. Novogratz deems this to be a healthy sign in the medium and long term as these positions get distributed. In the short run, however, he said that “it’s a proverbial wet blanket” and has weighed on prices.

About the author

Chayanika has been working as a financial journalist for six years. A graduate in Political Science and Journalism, her interest lies in regulatory implications with a focus on technological evolution in the crypto realm.

Ethereum

Ethereum Price Analysis: Will $3K Hold as ETH’s Bearish Momentum Intensifies?

Ethereum has slipped below the $3,300 mark, indicating persistent selling pressure in this zone. While bears aren’t showing strong momentum just yet, the fact that the price declined following a major liquidation event, one that already cleared out many over-leveraged longs, raises the risk of further downside. This hints that spot sellers could now be in control, opening the door for a deeper short-term correction.

Technical Analysis

By Shayan

The Daily Chart

On the daily chart, ETH dropped below the channel and has fallen slightly beneath the 200-day moving average. It is currently breaking below the $3,300 demand zone too. This is a key level Ethereum is now losing, as the 200-day moving average is known as one of the most critical indicators for determining whether the overall market phase is bullish or bearish.

The RSI also remains weak at 32, showing the market is not bound for recovery yet. For buyers to regain control, ETH needs to break back above $3,500 and flip that region and the 200-day moving average into support. Until then, the price is sitting in a vulnerable zone, which could push the price lower toward the $3,000 support level in the coming days.

The 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour chart shows a quick rejection from the lower boundary of the broken channel and the previous support zone, around $3,400. The price is currently hovering around the level and has yet to form a convincing rebound or create a higher low.

The RSI is also stabilizing below the 50% level, as the momentum is clearly bearish. With ETH breaking the $3,300 to the downside once more, the next sweep toward the $3,000 zone and lower could come fast.

Sentiment Analysis

Long Liquidations

Sentiment-wise, liquidations wiped out a large portion of late long entries, creating a cleaner slate for the price to stabilize. The chart shows a major liquidation spike right before the small bounce, confirming the shakeout.

With many positions flushed and the RSI nearing oversold regions across multiple timeframes, the market might soon be due for a reset. Yet, traders are likely to stay cautious, waiting for clearer strength and a break back above $3,500 before reloading on longs.

On the other hand, a drop toward the $3,000 level could ignite another liquidation cascade and lead to an even more significant liquidation event, which could result in another flash crash in the upcoming weeks.

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Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

Ethereum

Argentine Exchange Ripio Launches Digital Peso as Part of Latam’s Stablecoin Rollout

Ripio stated that the Argentine peso stablecoin, wARS, would be available on Ethereum, World Chain, and Base, as a key element to expand the exchange’s infrastructure in Latam. It stated that additional local stablecoins would be launched to support several use cases using blockchain tech. Ripio Debuts Digital Peso in Argentina…
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