On November 26, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously ruled that the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") had exceeded its statutory authority...
On November 26, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the
Fifth Circuit unanimously ruled that the Office of Foreign Assets
Control ("OFAC") had exceeded its statutory authority
under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
("IEEPA") by placing Tornado Cash and its "immutable
smart contracts" on the list of Specially Designated Nationals
and Blocked Persons ("SDN"). The Van Loon v.
Department of Treasury ruling held that immutable smart
contracts are not "property" under the IEEPA and
therefore are beyond OFAC's ability to sanction. While this
decision limits OFAC's ability to regulate certain
decentralized finance technologies using existing sanction laws, it
leaves largely untouched the Department of Justice's
ability to investigate and prosecute such entities and individuals
for sanctions violations via various theories of criminal
liability, such as conspiracy. Thus, persons in this space must
remain vigilant.
We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.
