Pertsev’s detention extended as Tornado Cash hits $2.8B in deposits

Alexey Pertsev, the developer of Tornado Cash, will remain in pre-trial detention for an extended period of time. The core developer expressed his sadness, stating that the decision would affect his ability to prepare for an appeal. 

Pertsev announced the news on his X account. He stated that he will remain determined to fight for justice despite the detention extension.

The crypto community on X has been supportive. Recently, Pertsev received a donation of 50 ETH from Ameen Soleimani, creator of MolochDAO and a veteran in the crypto space. Soleimani stated that he’s willing to match up to 50 more ETH of donations to help Pertsev Alexey fund his ongoing case costs.

I am sad to announce that, despite our best efforts, the court decided to prolong my pre-trial detention. This decision significantly complicates my ability to prepare for the appeal, but I remain determined to continue fighting for justice.

Grateful for your ongoing support.🙏🏼

— Alexey Pertsev (@alex_pertsev) November 21, 2024

Tornado Cash still operational despite US sanctions

In August 2022, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Tornado Cash. The cryptocurrency mixer was sanctioned due to its alleged involvement in laundering more than $7 billion since its inception in 2019.

The money laundering activities included a staggering amount of $455 million stolen by the North Korean organization Lazarus Group.

Tornado Cash remains active with a total of $619.42 million value locked and a market capitalization of $13.14 million, according to DeFiLlama. The protocol still receives millions of dollars of deposits on a monthly basis. Last month, Tornado Cash received deposits of $176.48 million and processed withdrawals of $72.91 million.

According to FlipSide Crypto, Tornado Cash recorded a total of $2.8 billion in deposits and $1.3 billion in withdrawals in 2024. 

On November 14, seven Democratic members of the US House of Representatives demanded answers from Treasury officials on the continued operations of Tornado Cash despite the sanctions. The Democratic members issued an official letter addressing the Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen.  

“We write to request additional information about the ongoing use of the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash after sanctions were imposed in 2022.” stated the letter.

The seven members including Brad Sherman, an anti-crypto Congress member, expressed their concerns and said, “Despite sanctions, Tornado Cash has remained online and continues to function as decentralized smart contracts.”

The letter stated that other centralized crypto mixers like Blender and Sinbad have been taken down, but Tornado Cash still operates, even seeing a resurgence in deposits and withdrawals. The Congress members also wrote about the involvement of Tornado Cash in facilitating money laundering for hackers, cybercriminals, and terrorist organizations

The letter ended with a list of questions, requesting the agency update the numbers of illicit transactions processed through the decentralized mixer. In addition, they questioned if the agency would impose secondary sanctions on people who have used the mixer. The Congress members who contributed to the letter also questioned if the Treasury Department has the tools to enforce the sanctions.

They requested the department provide answers by December 2.

From Zero to Web3 Pro: Your 90-Day Career Launch Plan