Zcash rallies 30% as privacy tokens gain momentum after court ruling on Tornado Cash sanctions

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Written on Nov 27, 2024

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Court ruled against Treasury sanctions on crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
Tornado’s native coin gained over 700% following the verdict.
ZEC led top privacy tokens with a 31% jump amidst the optimism

Privacy-focused digital coins recorded double-digit surges as the latest court ruling exempts immutable smart contracts from the US Treasury sanctions.

Watcher.Guru

@WatcherGuru

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JUST IN: 🇺🇸 US court rules sanctions placed against Tornado Cash crypto mixer were unlawful.

2:34 AM · Nov 27, 2024

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While the crypto market reflects indecisiveness as Bitcoin wavers above $93K, up 1.75% over the past day, privacy tokens saw significant gains.

Tornado Cash’s native token, TORN, gained over 700% following the verdict. Though the altcoin retraced to $17.50 at press time, it stays 400% up on its daily chart.

Meanwhile, Zcash stole the show among the top privacy tokens. ZEC capitalized on the optimism to climb from $44.16 to $58.03 24-hour peak – a 31.41% uptick.

Other privacy tokens that recorded impressive moves in the past day include 0x0 (+66%), zKML (+45%), and CLOAK (+50%).

Tornado Cash and legal challenges

Tornado Cash is a decentralized, non-custodial, open-source crypto tumbler running on EVM-compatible blockchains. It allows individuals to mix tainted crypto funds to conceal their source.

Meanwhile, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned the protocol in August 2022, making it unlawful for companies and residents to use the mixer.

The Treasury alleged fraudsters, including North Korea’s Lazarus Group, used Tornado Cash to conduct over $7 billion in illegal transactions.

Nonetheless, the court has dealt the department’s sanctions authority a blow with the latest landmark decision.

The ruling highlighted that Tornado’s immutable smart contracts (autonomous code lines that execute with zero human intervention) aren’t property, making them immune to the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers) Act.

The court added that it’s impossible to control or own immutable smart contracts, exempting them from property-tied sanctions.

The ruling attracted the attention of industry leaders, with many calling it a milestone for the cryptocurrency sector.

For instance, Coin Center’s director of research, Van Valkenburgh, showed optimism on the court’s decision.

Peter Van Valkenburgh

@valkenburgh

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I’m loving reading through this opinion. Smart contracts are not contracts (nor are they smart) and that makes all the difference. An immutable smart contract is not property of any kind and therefore can’t be sanctioned.

3:20 AM · Nov 27, 2024

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Further, Coinbase’s Paul Grewal commented that the verdict is a historic victory for digital assets and anyone who prioritizes liberty.

ZEC price outlook

The coin trades at $56.19 after a slight dip from its 24-hour peak.

ZEC remains 27% up on the daily timeframe, and the 75% surge in daily trading volume reflects notable trader activity and potential upside continuation.