The Treasury Department’s power to sanction the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash has been upheld by a federal court, which dismissed a lawsuit filed by Tornado Cash users.
The court ruled in favor of the government on all counts and granted summary judgment, confirming that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) can apply sanctions statutes to Tornado Cash.
The summary judgment sought by the plaintiffs—six Tornado Cash users—was also denied.
The plaintiffs claimed that the government’s action was illegal because it violated their First Amendment rights, saying that they wanted to use Tornado Cash “to donate to important political and social causes.”
The judge rejected this argument, stating that the plaintiffs “have not shown that the government’s action in any way implicates the First Amendment.”
