OFAC Tornado Cash Sanctions (August 2022)
eventMoney & Finance
The day the US government first tried to put a line of unstoppable computer code on its sanctions blacklist.
Who they are
The August 8, 2022 Treasury/OFAC action sanctioning Tornado Cash.
What they do
It was the first-ever placement of autonomous, unchangeable smart-contract code on the US sanctions list.
How it works
Instead of naming specific people or companies, the government listed the code itself, effectively trying to outlaw a piece of decentralized software.
Why it matters
The engine reads it as the state claiming legal authority over math and code rather than over actual human actors -- a new frontier for sanctions.
The engine's record — word for word
US Treasury OFAC sanctioned Tornado Cash August 8 2022. First-ever placement of immutable autonomous smart-contract code on the SDN sanctions list. Engine read: state asserting jurisdictional control over decentralized mathematics rather than over actors.
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