Tornado Cash Sanctioned. Did the Government Overstep Its Bounds? - Ep. 384
Jerry Brito, executive director of Coin Center, talks about Tornado Cash, why it was sanctioned, and what this means for privacy in crypto.
Show highlights: what Blender.io is and how it relates to Tornado Cash
how hackers have used Tornado Cash to launder money
whether the Office of Foreign Assets Control made a mistake, according to Jerry
how Americans were affected by the sanctions
why Jerry believes OFAC should have done an analysis to estimate how many people would be impacted by its decision
whether the sanctions should have been aimed at North Koren wallets and not the protocol
whether the sanctions are unconstitutional and whether Coin Center will litigate this
how Jerry believes Circle freezing USDC complicated everything
what the famous people who received 0.1 ETH from random accounts via Tornado Cash should do
what would happen if someone forked the Tornado Cash code and deployed a copycat smart contract to a new address
whether the sanctions signal the beginning of a privacy war on crypto
how regulators are applying the same traditional rules with crypto as they use with centralized entities
Thank you to our sponsors!
1inch: https://1inch.io/
Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021
Jerry Twitter: https://twitter.com/jerrybrito
Tornado Cash Tornado Cash Sanctioned: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/08/08/crypto-mixing-service-tornado-cash-blacklisted-by-us-treasury/
Coin Center’s article authored by Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh: https://www.coincenter.org/u-s-treasury-sanction-of-privacy-tools-places-sweeping-restrictions-on-all-americans/
Circle freezes USDC in sanctioned wallets: https://www.theblock.co/post/162172/circle-freezes-usdc-funds-in-tornado-cashs-us-treasury-sanctioned-wallets
Crypto exchange dYdX blocked accounts that received funds from Tornado Cash: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/08/11/crypto-exchange-dydx-blocked-accounts-that-received-even-small-amounts-from-tornado-cash/
The possibility of forking Tornado Cash: https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2022/08/10/cloning-tornado-cash-would-be-easy-but-risky/
What the sanctions mean for privacy coins: https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/08/09/what-the-tornado-cash-sanction-means-for-privacy-coins/
Tornado Cash laundered $1.5 billion, according to Elliptic: https://hub.elliptic.co/analysis/tornado-cash-mixer-sanctioned-after-laundering-over-1-5-billion/
Celebrities get Dusted: https://decrypt.co/es/107090/tornado-cash-dusts-public-wallets-jimmy-fallon-brian-armstrong-steve-aoki-logan-paul
Hacks linked to Tornado Cash
Ronin: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/15/ronin-hack-north-korea-linked-to-615-million-crypto-heist-us-says.html
Harmony: https://decrypt.co/104138/north-korean-attackers-behind-100m-harmony-hack-report
Crypto.com: https://www.wired.com/story/crypto-hack-nso-group-security-news/
Nomad: https://decrypt.co/106459/crypto-bridge-nomad-exploited-190m-frenzied-free-for-all
Previous Coverage of Unchained: Will the Nomad Mass Looting Change How Law Enforcement Treats DeFi Hacks?: https://unchainedpodcast.com/will-the-nomad-mass-looting-change-how-law-enforcement-treats-defi-hacks-ep-382/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tornado Cash BANNED By OFAC... Is this the War on Crypto?
On Monday, the U.S. Treasury Department made a smart contract illegal.
They can do that??
David walks you through the news, with multiple interviews from Jerry Brito and Collins Belton, two experts in the matter.
Let us know how you like the format!
------ 🚀 SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/ 🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST: http://podcast.banklesshq.com/
------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALED ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum
❎ ACROSS | BRIDGE TO LAYER 2 https://bankless.cc/Across
🏦 ALTO IRA | TAX-FREE CRYPTO https://bankless.cc/AltoIRA
👻 AAVE V3 | LEND & BORROW CRYPTO https://bankless.cc/aave
⚡️ MAKER DAO | THE DAI STABLECOIN https://bankless.cc/MakerDAO
🦁 BRAVE | THE BROWSER NATIVE WALLET https://bankless.cc/Brave
------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro Opening Shot: https://twitter.com/RyanSAdams/status/1556743328774995971?s=20&t=OzfqFxxolrjhwZICo4KV6w Ripple Effects: https://twitter.com/collins_belton/thread/1556650759994970113 Neutral Tool: https://twitter.com/jerrybrito/status/1556667240711438337?s=20&t=avKH9mQ1_3KDno2P2THs7Q
4:00 What is OFAC? Overview: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/office-of-foreign-assets-control-sanctions-programs-and-information Press Release: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0916 Sec Blinken: https://twitter.com/SecBlinken/status/1556677862345801728?s=20&t=QwqpNxU9CYKPz8LhBATSFQ
7:44 What is Tornado Cash? Breakdown: https://blog.chainalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/tornado-pie-1536x1034.png Treasury Misleading: https://twitter.com/USTreasury/status/1556655337431785472?s=20&t=Jw5y0Xr4fHSelCzfhWvYlQ Alex Svanevik: https://twitter.com/ASvanevik/status/1556983834809614337?s=20&t=OCDr5P9jRweG9RVYdmmxKQ
10:20 Using Tornado Cash Neeraj Meme: https://twitter.com/NeerajKA/status/1556707552251060225?s=20&t=UNffL4gM4hBsaXDEZ0gJ_w Clean ETH2 Addresses: https://twitter.com/econoar/status/1556775153153048582?s=20&t=63-Nwh2Lv7u8tTC4E-CVUw More Use Cases: https://twitter.com/RezaJafery/status/1556751888896258049?s=20&t=9rJ2buSh4PCTPMlNKezAyw
12:15 Banning Smart Contracts Coin Center Announcement: https://www.coincenter.org/u-s-treasury-sanction-of-privacy-tools-places-sweeping-restrictions-on-all-americans/
17:08 Ripple Effects Circle: https://www.theblock.co/post/162172/circle-freezes-usdc-funds-in-tornado-cashs-us-treasury-sanctioned-wallets Github: https://twitter.com/bantg/status/1556721709931175937?s=20&t=LSCI_12-Giipv727Y52qUg Infura & Alchemy: https://twitter.com/0xdev0/status/1556933551073153024
20:55 A Ban on Who? Cobie & Gainzy: https://twitter.com/cobie/status/1556647650212155394?s=20&t=F8nhR0zX4PkbGGOl1JmBCQ Depositing .1 ETH: https://twitter.com/josephdelong/status/1557011056572129280?s=20&t=F1JszlO7Zm0lm4EGsgBrNg
23:14 A Chilling Effect Attacking Free Speech: https://twitter.com/matthew_d_green/status/1556764387796340736?s=20&t=w8K19sEWj_AVS372HOjHTw
25:47 Decentralization Priorities: https://twitter.com/econoar/status/1556825245381578753?s=20&t=63-Nwh2Lv7u8tTC4E-CVUw
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures
SotN#26: Defending our Nodes w/ Coin Center's Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh
🚀 SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER: http://bankless.substack.com/ ✊ STARTING GUIDE BANKLESS: https://bit.ly/37Q17uI❤️ JOIN PRIVATE DISCORD: https://bit.ly/2UVI10O🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST: http://podcast.banklesshq.com/ 👕 BUY BANKLESS TEE: https://merch.banklesshq.com/
-----
GO BANKLESS WITH THESE SPONSOR TOOLS:
⭐️LEDGER - BEST HARDWARE WALLET TO SECURE YOUR CRYPTOhttps://bankless.cc/ledger
🚀 ARGENT - INVEST IN DEFI FROM ONE PLACE (download it now!) https://bankless.cc/argent
💳 MONOLITH - GET THE HOLY GRAIL OF BANKLESS VISA CARDS https://bankless.cc/monolith
🤖YEARN - YIELD-SEEKING MONEY ROBOT THAT FARMS DEFI FOR YOU http://bankless.cc/yearn
------
Defending Crypto from the STABLE Act | Coin Center's Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh
Coin Center is a non-profit organization focused on public policy isues facing public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
While Bitcoin and Ethereum are unstoppable internet networks, Nation States can still mediate our relationship with them, and therefore fighting the regulatory fight is extremely important!
Coin Center recently opened up their Gitcoin Grant https://gitcoin.co/grants/1668/coin-center-is-educating-policy-makers-about-publ which has received an outpouring of support.
Maybe it has to do with the STABLE Act? This act was recently introduced by Rashida Tlaib and others, in an attempt to add regulatory oversight to those that issue and leverage stablecoins.
We bring on Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh to help us understand the perspective coming out of the STABLE Act, and its implications to our industry.
Coin Center's website: https://www.coincenter.org/
The STABLE Act: https://tlaib.house.gov/media/press-releases/tlaib-garcia-and-lynch-stableact
Coin Center's Gitcoin Grant: https://gitcoin.co/grants/1668/coin-center-is-educating-policy-makers-about-publ
Preston Byrne's blog post on the STABLE Act: https://prestonbyrne.com/blog/
------
Don't stop at the video!
Subscribe to the Bankless newsletter program
http://bankless.substack.com/
Visit the official Bankless website for resources
http://banklesshq.com/
Follow Bankless on Twitter
https://twitter.com/BanklessHQ
Follow Ryan on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ryansadams
Follow David on Twitter
https://twitter.com/TrustlessState
-----
Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time we may add links in this channel to products we use. We may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. We'll always disclose when this is the case
Oslo Freedom Forum 2019: Protecting Financial Freedoms in the Digital Age - Ep.123
In this panel, recorded at the Oslo Freedom Forum 2019, I moderated what an attendee described as a "lively" discussion on the relationship between finances and freedom with Bitcoin author and educator Jimmy Song; Alena Vranova, Head of Strategy at Casa; and Coin Center founder Jerry Brito. We talked about what it's like to live under a regime where people don’t have a lot of financial freedom, how the move to a cashless society is leading to a surveillance state, and how we're seeing the emergence of a corporate surveillance state. We talked about how cryptocurrency could bring us more financial freedom, how crypto is/should be regulated, privacy coins and the imminent Financial Action Task Forces rules that require crypto exchanges and other services send each other information on customers for each transaction. Plus, we discuss bad state actors using crypto.
Read the show notes on Forbes!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/06/11/how-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrencies-can-further-financial-freedom/
Help make Unchained better! Take our survey and enter the giveaway for a free Bitcoin lightning node and a yearlong Casa Gold membership, -- including a multisig security app for iPhone and Android, a Trezor hardware wallet, a Casa faraday bag, and 24/7 support! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchainedsurvey2019
Those of you interested in learning more about Casa, or about protecting your Bitcoin investment generally, should check out my interview with CEO Jeremy Welch. https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-casa-makes-it-harder-for-someone-to-steal-your-bitcoins/ Thank you to Casa for donating!
Thank you to our sponsors!
Kraken: https://www.kraken.com
CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained
Episode links:
Oslo Freedom Forum: https://oslofreedomforum.com
Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org
Jimmy Song: https://twitter.com/jimmysong
Alena Vranova: https://twitter.com/AlenaSatoshi
Jerry Brito: https://twitter.com/jerrybrito
Programming Blockchain: https://programmingblockchain.com
Casa: https://keys.casa
Coin Center: https://coincenter.org
FATF rules: https://www.coindesk.com/beyond-kyc-global-regulators-appear-set-to-adopt-tough-new-rules-for-crypto-exchanges
How regulation could spur the development of technology in the crypto space toward more P2P:
Vitalik blog post on this: https://vitalik.ca/general/2019/05/09/control_as_liability.html
Michael Casey on the topic: https://www.coindesk.com/the-cat-and-mouse-game-of-crypto-regulation-enters-a-new-phase
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices