The cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash has returned to the GitHub software development platform after several weeks of being banned from the website.
The developer of Ethereum Preston Van Loon took to Twitter on Thursday to report that GitHub has partially unbanned the Tornado Cash organization and contributors from its platform. The developer suggested that the Tornado Cash code repositories are now in read-only mode, meaning GitHub has yet to restore full functionality.
“But this is progress from a total ban. I continue to encourage GitHub to reverse all actions and return repositories to their previous state,” Van Loon stated.
According to GitHub data, lhe latest updates to the Tornado Cash repositories were made on August 22, which is shortly after Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Semenov reported that his account was on the platform. On August 8, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) prohibited United States residents from using Tornado Cash and blacklisted 44 USD Coin (USDC) and Ether (ETH) addresses associated with the mixer.
Tornado Cash’s return to GitHub came shortly after OFAC clarified its policies around Tornado Cash on September 13, stating that United States residents would not be in violation of sanctions by copying the mixer’s code or making it available. online. OFAC also noted that Americans would not be barred from visiting the Tornado Cash website if it becomes available online again.
hey @githubplease unban @TornadoCash code repositories now.
OFAC has stated: “US persons would not be prohibited by US sanctions regulations from copying the open-source code and making it available online for others to view”
— prestonvanloon.eth (@preston_vanloon) September 13, 2022
Hey @github, please unban @TornadoCash code repositories now. OFAC has stated: “US persons would not be prohibited under US sanctions regulations from copying open source code and making it available online for others to view.”
Based on the Ethereum blockchain, Tornado Cash is a tool that allows users to hide their crypto transactions to protect their anonymity by obfuscating information traces on the blockchain. The Ethereum mixer came under scrutiny from global regulators following the OFAC ban, which led to the arrest of the developers of Tornado Cash for their alleged involvement in money laundering through the platform.
The ongoing controversy surrounding Tornado Cash has raised many questions in the cryptocurrency and developer community, with many people concerned about the legal issues surrounding writing open source.. Some major crypto firms also opposed the Treasury Department’s actions, with exchange Coinbase deciding to support a lawsuit filed by Tornado Cash users against OFAC.
As previously reported, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly claimed that he used Tornado Cash to donate funds to Ukraine in order to protect the financial privacy of recipients.
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