Crypto Mixing Protocol Tornado Cash Get $1.8 Billion In Only Half Year 2024

Crypto mixing protocol Tornado Cash has experienced a significant recovery in 2024, with over $1.8 billion in deposits recorded in the first half of the year. This reflects a 45% increase from the previous year’s total deposits. Tornado Cash, originally designed to preserve privacy in the cryptocurrency world, pools funds from different transactions and redistributes them, making it challenging to trace the original sources. However, the anonymity it offers has attracted bad actors seeking to launder illicit assets. Recent major hacks, such as those on the Poloniex exchange, HECO Bridge, and Orbit Chain, saw substantial amounts of stolen funds funneled through Tornado Cash. Despite sanctions and legal actions against Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev, the protocol’s decentralized nature makes it difficult for authorities to effectively control its usage. Though monthly deposits initially dropped over 90% following the sanctions, the revival of the protocol highlights the challenges of eradicating illicit activities from the crypto industry. Meanwhile, Pertsev remains in prison as his legal team appeals his sentence for facilitating the laundering of $1.2 billion in illicit assets through the mixer.