We’re suing the government again
This week Coin Center announced another lawsuit against the U.S. government. We are suing the Treasury Department and its Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) over its recent sanction of Tornado Cash smart contracts.
You can read more about our suit and the full complaint here: Coin Center is suing OFAC over its Tornado Cash sanction.
Previously, we have sued the Treasury department over its unconstitutional surveillance requirements for transactions directly between two parties. That case is in process and we will share updates when we can.
Recent news from the Securities and Exchange Commission has reopened the discussion of when and how NFTs can be securities. Research Director Peter Van Valkenburgh joined Laura Shin to dive into these issues.
Different news from the SEC has reopened the discussion of staking and securities laws. Peter joined a twitter space hosted by our friends at the Proof of Stake Alliance to break down the issue.
Listen to the recording here:
Read more: Does the Merge change how Ethereum is regulated? (No.)
Peter also gave a lecture on privacy and surveillance law for U.C. Berkeley’s Decentralized Finance MOOC. The video is two hours long and goes into detail on hot button issues particular to DeFi.
Watch: Peter Van Valkenburgh, Current Topics in Crypto Regulation
We participated in POLITICO’s Writing the Rules of Crypto event in D.C. alongside Rep. Patrick McHenry, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee.
Coin Center in the Media
Wall Street Journal - Crypto Advocacy Group Sues U.S. Treasury Over Tornado Cash Sanctions
Washington Post - Industry group sues government over sanctions on Tornado Cash mixer
Politico - A second Tornado Cash Lawsuit
Axios - Coin Center suit alleges Tornado Cash sanction exceeded statute
Bloomberg - Crypto Group Sues Janet Yellen, US Treasury Over Tornado Cash Sanctions
The Block - Coin Center sues Treasury over Tornado Cash sanctions
CoinDesk - Crypto Think Tank Coin Center Sues US Treasury Over Tornado Cash Sanctions
Decrypt - Coin Center Sues Treasury Over Tornado Cash Ban
As always, if you wish to support Coin Center’s policy advocacy mission please consider making a donation: coincenter.org/donate