Deposit Volume in Crypto Mixer Tornado Cash Soars Despite Sanctions

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Despite facing sanctions and legal troubles, banned cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash has surprisingly seen a significant increase in deposits in the first half of 2024.

According to Flipside Crypto, the protocol has received $1.9 billion in deposits, a 50% growth from the total deposits in 2023.

In 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed sanctions on Tornado Cash after it was discovered that North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group had used the platform to launder $455 million in illegal funds.

These sanctions prohibit anyone who interacts with the protocol from being able to use their wallets on compliant crypto exchanges, making it difficult to convert crypto into fiat.