"Today, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash, which has been used to launder more than $7 billion worth of virtual currency since its creation in 2019," the release said.
The mixer was allegedly used by the Lazarus group, a North Korea state-sponsored hacking group, to steal some $455 million as well as to launder more than $96 million as part of the June 24 Harmony Bridge Heist, and $7.8 million in the August 2 Nomad Heist, the release said.
Tornado Cash is a virtual currency mixer that operates on the Ethereum blockchain and indiscriminately facilitates anonymous transactions by obfuscating their origin, destination and counterparties, with no attempt to determine their origin, the release added.
Tornado has become the second virtual currency mixer designated by the United States after the Treasury Department imposed sanctions in May on a virtual currency mixer Blender.io that had allegedly been used by North Korea to conduct cyber activities and money laundering operations.