A First For Crypto, U.S. Treasury Sanctions Mixer Blender IO

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued its first-ever sanctions on a crypto mixer. The mixing service was used by Lazarus Group to process illicit proceeds from the $620 million crypto heist of the online game Axie Infinity, said the Treasury Department. Treasury Department Sanctions Crypto Mixer The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Friday that it has sanctioned crypto mixer Blender.io (Blender). According to the OFAC, this mixing service is used by the Democratic....

The crypto mixer is said to have processed $20.5 million out of the $620 million taken by North Korean Lazarus Group hackers. The United States Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Friday that it was sanctioning cryptocurrency mixer Blender.io for its role in laundering proceeds from the hacking of Axie Infinity's Ronin Bridge. North Korean state-sponsored hackers Lazarus Group have been identified as the perpetrators of the attack. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement: “Today, for the first....

Residents would not be violating sanctions by visiting Tornado Cash's website, copying the mixer’s open-source code, nor making the code available online or in print. The United States Department of the Treasury said “interacting” with cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash’s open-source code, with certain provisions, would not be in violation of sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC.In the guidance posted to its frequently asked questions pages on Tuesday, the Treasury Department clarified some concerns previously voiced by many U.S.-based crypto users regarding....

Assistant Secretary at the Treasury Department Elizabeth Rosenberg said sanctioning crypto mixers could help deter money laundering from entities in Russia, Iran and North Korea. Elizabeth Rosenberg, the assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes at the United States Department of the Treasury, suggested sanctioning cryptocurrency mixers could help strengthen the government’s response to foreign entities looking to use digital assets for illicit means. In a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Banking Committee, which covered sanctions on Russia, Rosenberg said having the....

The redesignation of the crypto mixer essentially replaces the U.S. Treasury’s actions from August, establishing sanctions for its role in “enabling malicious cyber activities." The United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC, has amended the sanctions on cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash in addition to including two individuals involved in “transportation and procurement activities” for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in its list of Specially Designated Nationals.In a Nov. 8 announcement, the Department of the Treasury said it had “delisted and....