Here’s Why Tornado Cash (TORN) Soared Over 200% Today

Ethereum-based crypto mixer platform Tornado Cash recently made headlines as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a two-year-old sanction imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Tornado Cash’s native token, TORN, soared more than 200%, from $9.4 to over $25 in a few hours. At the time of writing, the digital asset sold for $20.7.

Source: CoinStats

Over a Two-Year-Long Sanction

Tornado Cash’s flagship feature, which allows users to transport crypto assets while masking their wallet addresses on-chain, was the driving force behind OFAC’s clampdown on the crypto protocol. Through OFAC, the U.S. Treasury Department enforced a sanction over Tornado Cash in August 2022, arguing that the privacy-focused project aided hackers in moving stolen funds.

In November 2024, a three-judge panel in the U.S. appeals court lifted the sanction, explaining that the Treasury Department misused its authority. Following the ruling, the Treasury Department had 90 days to file a petition against the verdict. Law expert MetaLawMan stated that the department may allow Trump’s administration to handle the matter.

The latest ruling indicates that the Treasury Department is not interested in reestablishing the sanction.

Tornado Cash Co-Founders Still in Prison

While today marks a big win for Tornado Cash and the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, the protocol’s co-founders remain in prison. Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev, co-founders of Tornado Cash, were arrested and charged with money laundering over their ties to the crypto mixer.

Pertsev has been serving a 64-month jail term since May 2024 after being found guilty in court in the Netherlands. Given the U.S. court’s latest stance, It remains uncertain if the Dutch authorities will reconsider his prison sentence.

In December, Storm, who was arrested in Washington, requested a U.S. federal judge to drop charges against him, given the appeals court’s ruling two months earlier. The troubled co-founder has yet to receive a piece of good news regarding his case as of this writing.