GitHub has lifted its ban on the popular crypto mixer, Tornado Cash, after the US Treasury stated last week that its sanctions do not apply to the mixer’s code but its wallet addresses. Therefore, GitHub has restored the Tornado Cash code to the platform.
Tornado Cash Returns To GitHub
Tornado Cash, a popular crypto mixer, is now back on GitHub, a software development platform. This is coming after GitHub initially banned the crypto mixer following US sanctions.
On Thursday, Preston Van Loon, an Ethereum developer, tweeted that GitHub has partially unbanned Tornado Cash on its platform. Van Loon added that the crypto mixer’s code repositories are back on the platform but in read-only mode.
This means that the software development website has not fully restored functionality for Tornado Cash. However, he noted that this is dome progress following the outright ban by the platform.
Furthermore, he asked GitHub to return Tornado Cash’s repositories to their initial status. As per GitHub data, the platform banned Tornado Cash’s repositories on August 22nd.
This was shortly after Roman Semenov, the co-founder of Tornado Cash, stated that he had an account on the platform. The US OFAC (Office of Foreign Asset Control) banned US citizens from using the crypto mixer on August 8th.
OFAC Clarifies Its Sanctions on Tornado Cash
In addition, the agency blacklisted over 44 USDC and ETH wallet addresses that were linked with the crypto mixer. The return of Tornado Cash to GitHub comes after the US OFAC clarified the terms of its sanctions on September 13th.
OFAC stated that US citizens would not violate its sanctions if they copied Tornado Cash’s code or posted it online. Additionally, the agency added that US citizens could visit the crypto mixer’s website if it is available again.
Tornado Cash is an Ethereum-based tool that allows users to conceal their crypto transactions. This protects their identity by hiding the information trails.
However, the tool came under fire from regulators after the US OFAC banned the protocol. This led to the arrest of the developers for allegedly taking part in money laundering using crypto.
Meanwhile, the ban on Tornado Cash is still controversial in the crypto community. The ban gave way to several questions concerning crypto privacy and anonymity.
Also, several users worried about the legal issues linked to open-source code. Some major crypto companies, such as Coinbase, expressed their displeasure with the action of the US Treasury Department.
Coinbase supported a lawsuit by users of Tornado Cash against OFAC. According to reports, several individuals in the crypto community have used the crypto mixer.
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, said he used Tornado Cash when donating funds to Ukraine. He took this step to protect the identity of those who received the funds.
Source: https://crypto.news/github-unbans-tornado-cashs-repositories/