A long-running legal clash between Coin Center and the U.S. Treasury Department over the controversial sanctioning of Tornado Cash has officially come to an end.
A federal appeals court granted a joint motion to dismiss the case, closing the chapter on a dispute that had raised major concerns about the limits of government authority in regulating blockchain technology.
Filed last week with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the motion signals the termination of Coin Center’s legal challenge against the Treasury’s move to blacklist Tornado Cash in 2022. That sanction, issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), had effectively prohibited U.S. individuals and companies from interacting with the Ethereum-based privacy tool.
Coin Center’s executive director, Peter Van Valkenburgh, said Monday that the government had abandoned the case, noting that officials were unwilling to defend what he described as an overly expansive interpretation of sanctions law.
A turning point came earlier this year when OFAC rescinded the Tornado Cash designation, weakening the foundation of the Treasury’s legal argument. The government argued that this action rendered Coin Center’s appeal irrelevant, while the advocacy group maintained the issue would only be fully moot once a related case in Texas was finalized.
Although no further proceedings are expected, the case leaves behind a lasting precedent about the reach of financial enforcement in decentralized ecosystems—a debate that continues to evolve as regulators and developers clash over the future of privacy in crypto.
Kosta Gushterov
Reporter at Coindoo
Kosta has been a part of the team since 2021 and has solidified his position with a thirst for knowledge, incredible dedication to his work and a “detective-like” mindset. He not only covers a wide range of trending topics, he also creates reviews, PR articles and educational content. His work has also been referenced by other news outlets.
Source: https://coindoo.com/tornado-cash-legal-battle-ends-as-u-s-treasury-drops-sanctions-appeal/