Welcome back to Chain Reaction.
Last week, we talked about a hack that gave new, ironic meaning to the word “trustless.” This week, we’ll get into one of the most polarizing aspects of crypto — privacy.
If someone forwarded you this message, you can subscribe on TechCrunch’s newsletter page.
all mixed up
A weekly window into the thoughts of senior crypto reporter Anita Ramaswamy:
Tornado Cash has been the talk of the town this week in crypto circles. The U.S. government’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), a watchdog within the Treasury, leveled sanctions against the cryptocurrency mixer for its role in helping facilitate money laundering. North Korean-backed hackers, among others, have used the Tornado Cash platform to mask stolen crypto associated with some of the highest-profile hacks in web3 to date, including last week’s Nomad heist and the hack of play-to-earn video game Axie Infinity earlier this year.
But in imposing sanctions, OFAC was essentially using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The agency’s official notice on the topic said that the platform had facilitated $7 billion worth of money laundering — which happens to be the to …
