Companies are starting to block Tornado Cash related activities, following the new guidelines set by OFAC. Key Blockchain infrastructure services Infura and Alchemy are blocking users from accessing Tornado Cash. In addition, Circle has taken steps to freeze funds linked to Tornado Cash addresses.
Ethereum node providers on Tornado blacklist
As you follow on Kriptokoin.com, the US Treasury Department has officially banned all American citizens from using the decentralized crypto mixing service Tornado Cash. Following the US Treasury’s ban, Infura and Alchemy also joined a growing list of central organizations to block access to Tornado Cash.
Popular API and node infrastructure providers, considered the bedrocks of Ethereum and the broader Web3 ecosystems, have begun blocking remote procedure call (RPC) requests to Tornado Cash. Twitter user 0xdev0 first noticed the development on Tuesday. Infura and Alchemy provide access to RPC nodes for blockchains like Ethereum. Its services help developers deploy decentralized applications. It also allows regular users to access Web3 without running their own nodes. It is used as standard with products such as the MetaMask wallet. Two of Ethereum’s most used node providers.
The move to block RPC requests prevents anyone using Alchemy or Infura in the background from accessing Tornado Cash. The block currently applies to the privacy app’s front-end website. In other words, it is possible for users to theoretically bypass the ban by interacting directly with the smart contract. The development is most likely explained by the Treasury Department’s unprecedented move yesterday to sanction Tornado Cash and its associated code.
Circle freezes funds tied to Tornado Cash addresses
Meanwhile, in response to the ban, USDC issuer Circle and GitHub moved quickly to comply with regulations. Circle has effectively frozen an estimated 75,000 USDC locked in Tornado Cash. This has sparked controversy over the risks of relying on central parties like Circle when using Web3. Just like Circle, Alchemy and Infura are centralized services that many crypto users rely on on a daily basis. Ethereum users in countries like Iran have previously struggled to access products like OpenSea and MetaMask after Infura complied with US sanctions.
More than 40 cryptocurrency addresses allegedly linked to the controversial Tornado Cash have been added to the Foreign Asset Control Office’s (OFAC) Specially Designated Citizens and Blocked Persons (SDN) list. In light of this, Circle has taken steps to freeze funds linked to Tornado Cash addresses.
Following the US Treasury Department’s announcement, Circle, which issues the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, has decided to freeze 75,000 USDC worth of funds linked to 44 Tornado Cash addresses approved by OFAC’s Specially Designated Citizens and Blocked Persons list.
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