Uniswap creator calls sanctions against Тornado Сash “a big freedom of speech issue”

Hayden Adams thinks the argument that privacy is only necessary for illegal activities is absurd

10.08.2022 - 15:00

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What’s new? Uniswap protocol founder Hayden Adams said that the sanctions imposed by the US authorities against the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash are “a big freedoom of speech” and privacy issue. Privacy is essential to a functional and safe community, he said. Adams considers arguments that privacy is only needed for illegal activities absurd.

My thoughts on the tornado situation:1) Privacy is critical for a functional and safe society. Arguments that privacy is only for illegal activity are absurd/dangerous and reminds me of the people that want to make encryption illegal.— hayden.eth 🦄 (@haydenzadams) August 9, 2022

What else did Adams say? He considers it a bad precedent that sanctions were not imposed against specific individuals, but against the entire project, which was used by the attackers. The Uniswap founder added:

“Attacking companies for complying with their local laws and regulations is usually not nearly as helpful as advocating for sensible laws or policy.”

What is known about Tornado Cash? It's a non-custodial protocol for making anonymous transactions. The decentralized platform ensures transaction privacy by interrupting the standard chain between sender and recipient addresses.

On August 8, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the Treasury Department, put Tornado Cash on the sanctions list. The restrictions mean a complete ban on the use of the service in the United States.

According to OFAC, a total of more than $7 billion has been laundered using Tornado Cash since its inception in 2019. Experts noted that the service was used by hackers from the North Korean group Lazarus Group.

Earlier, the developers of the anonymous cryptocurrency Zcash spoke out against the restrictions against the mixer. The Electric Coin Company noted that this precedent could negatively affect the civil liberties of Americans.

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