Coin Center takes US Treasury to court over alleged financial spying

The non-profit that focuses on policy issues facing cryptocurrencies, Coin Center, has filed a lawsuit against the Treasury department, the secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) director Andrea Gacki. Coin Center’s court filing says that the government’s sanctioning of Tornado Cash exceeds the Treasury’s statutory authority. The Coin Center lawsuit insists that Americans have a right to privacy and a right to protect their property, as Tornado Cash can be used for these benefits in a legitimate fashion. ....

The advocacy group alleged OFAC “exceeded their statutory authority” in sanctioning Tornado Cash because the mixer was a “privacy tool beyond the control of anyone.” United States-based crypto policy advocacy group Coin Center has followed through with its intention to take the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC, to court over sanctioning cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash.In an Oct. 12 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, lawyers for Coin Center as well as crypto investor David Hoffman, an anonymous human-rights advocate known....

“By treating autonomous code as a ‘person’ OFAC exceeds its statutory authority,” said Coin Center's Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh. United States-based crypto policy advocacy group Coin Center said it intended to “pursue administrative relief” for individuals affected by Tornado Cash sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC.In a Monday blog post, Coin Center executive director Jerry Brito and director of research Peter Van Valkenburgh alleged OFAC “overstepped its legal authority” when it named cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash and 44....

Crypto think tank Coin Center has been one of the most critical voices against the U.S. Treasury and the sanctions imposed on the Ethereum-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Tornado Cash. The platform was sanctioned by the U.S. government for its alleged ties to illegal activities in a decision that might have set a dangerous precedent. Related […]

Grayscale and Ripple against the SEC, Coin Center versus the Treasury — it’s a hot season in the U.S. courts. Perhaps one of the most captivating signs of the industry’s maturity is the increasing amount of court cases in which crypto companies fight back against perceived regulatory abuses. Last week saw some major advancements in that direction. Digital asset manager Grayscale has filed its opening brief against the United States Securities Exchange Commission to challenge its decision denying Grayscale’s application to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to a spot Bitcoin....