A John Hopkins Professor Deals a Legal Blow to Blacklisting Tornado Cash

When Tornado Cash was first blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department I was pretty surprised to see them jump to that extreme of a move. By doing so they applied the most significant punishment without going through hardly any steps as they normally would. I do not think they thought of the backlash that this move would get across the board and involve people who otherwise wouldn't even know what this protocol was. While various individuals, associations, think tanks, and government officials plan out their next steps to try and undo this one man really already threw a massive wrench into the Treasury Department's goal.

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When the listing occurred various platforms were quick to shut down anything affiliated with Tornado Cash in an effort to make sure they did not get in trouble with the law. GitHub was one such platform as they removed the code for the protocol. When John Hopkins Professor Matthew Green reuploaded the code he exposed a huge issue with how the government had gone about restricting Tornado Cash. U.S. courts have consistently upheld the right of privacy for individuals which is specifically what the code ensures. It also taps into the freedom of speech protections in the U.S. where the code itself does not violate the specific examples that apply some regulations to freedom of speech. Court cases dating back decades are quick to side with protecting these freedoms with GitHub being owned by a public company in Microsoft it makes it even harder for them to remove the code.

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With the recess that Congress has been on nearing its end and more Members of Congress speaking out against the move Tornado Cash will likely remain in the news for the next few months. What the outcome of this will be is anyone's guess but the way Professor Green tapped into an individual's freedom of speech and privacy is monumental in keeping the code accessible for the public as well as just being a thorn in the side of the Treasury Department.