The U.S. Treasury Department acted outside its authority when it sanctioned cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash in 2022 and accused it of helping launder over $7 billion for North Korean hackers and other malicious cyber actors,

Two years ago, the US government imposed far-reaching sanctions against the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash. But it was not allowed to do so.

A federal appellate court ruled that privacy tools built on the Ethereum blockchain, known as Tornado Cash, cannot be subject to the sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department. Why it matters: The ruling advances cryptocurrency law by finding that certain kinds of smart contracts are not property.

A U.S. court has recently made a significant ruling that overturned the U.S. government’s sanctions against Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service. The case centers around whether the U.S. Treasury Department had the legal authority to impose these sanctions on Tornado Cash,