The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a major cryptocurrency platform, accusing it of laundering billions of dollars in virtual currency, including $455 million allegedly stolen by North Korean hackers.
Monday’s action against Tornado Cash, a so-called mixer platform that enables users to exchange cryptocurrencies with relative anonymity, is another salvo by the Biden administration against the burgeoning blockchain financial markets. Regulators, lawmakers and law-enforcement officials say that some cryptocurrency platforms afford users anonymity that enables them to launder criminal proceeds, finance terrorism, or engage in public corruption.