A group of six American citizens, supported by lawyers from Coinbase exchange, have initiated a legal action alleging that the American government’s imposition of sanctions on Tornado Cash service breaches the US Constitution.
The lawsuit argues that the very nature of the cryptocurrency mixing service makes it impossible to be subject to any proprietary regulations.
Being merely software, it does not possess the characteristics of a foreign citizen, person, or group of people, and consequently, any imposed sanctions constitute a violation of the constitutional rights of US citizens.
The plaintiffs named in the lawsuit are Joseph Van Loon, Tyler Almeida, Alexander Fisher, Preston Van Loon, Kevin Vitale, and Nate Welch.
The General Counsel of Coinbase, Paul Grewal, has praised the plaintiffs’ arguments as “simple but compelling,” while acknowledging that although some users may use the mixing services in ways that can be harmful, US law clearly states that “one cannot deprive the privacy of all due to the illegal actions of a few.”
It is worth noting that Tornado Cash developer, Alexey Pertsev, was detained in the Netherlands last year, and the service’s wallets were put under sanctions.
Currently, Pertsev remains in custody, with the term of arrest extended until the next hearing, scheduled for April 21.