In summary
- TORN rose 382.9%, reaching $35 following the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that exempted immutable smart contracts from penalties.
- Privacy cryptocurrencies such as RAIL, ZEC and DASH also recorded strong gains following the favorable verdict.
- Crypto leaders hailed the decision as a milestone for privacy and decentralization in the Blockchain space.
Cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash just changed the Treasury’s agenda, and now privacy cryptocurrencies are reaping the rewards.
Tornado Cash’s native token, TORN, soared to highs of nearly $35 on Tuesday morning, after the US Fifth Circuit ruled that immutable smart contracts cannot be classified as “property” under the current law.
At press time, TORN has retreated from its high to trade at $17.17, following a 382.9% rise on the day, according to data from CoinGecko.
The court’s landmark decision hit the US Treasury Department’s sanctions authority, triggering a market-wide rally in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. Railgun (RAIL) rose 36.6% to $0.98, Zcash (ZEC) rose 26.5% to $56.92, Beam (BEAM) rose 19.8% to $0.069, and DASH jumped 11.4 % at $35.79, according to data from CoinGecko.
The ruling overturned a lower court’s decision, stating that Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts, autonomous lines of code that execute without human intervention, are not “property” and therefore fall outside the Economic Powers Act. International Emergency Agency (IEEPA).
It was also emphasized that immutable smart contracts cannot be owned or controlled, exempting them from ownership-based penalties.
This directly challenges Treasury’s August 2022 designation of Tornado Cash, which alleged the protocol facilitated more than $7 billion in illicit transactions, including funds linked to North Korea’s Lazarus group.
“Privacy wins”
Crypto leaders have hailed the decision as a watershed moment for the space, with Peter Van Valkenburgh, research director at advocacy group Coin Center, praising the legal clarity provided by the decision. “Immutable smart contracts are not property of any kind and therefore cannot be sanctioned,” Van Valkenburgh wrote on Twitter.
The impact of the decision was amplified on social media, where crypto enthusiasts celebrated the court’s recognition of the decentralized technology.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal tweeted that, “Privacy wins,” adding that the verdict was a “historic victory for cryptocurrencies and everyone who cares about defending freedom.”
Uniswap Labs CEO Hayden Adam tweeted: “Immutable smart contracts just beat the Treasury Department in court. Incredible to see the extent to which cryptocurrencies are triumphing in federal courts.”
For now, privacy coins are enjoying their moment in the spotlight, an indicator of how closely the cryptocurrency market is tied to legal and regulatory outcomes.
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