What Are Crypto Mixers And Why Sanctioning Them Is The Right Move

screenrant.com:

Despite their official intent of protecting on-chain user privacy, cryptocurrency mixers like Tornado Cash are allegedly used often by criminals to launder money. While most private-by-default chains remain uncracked by government agencies, they are not smart contract blockchains like Ethereum, and are thus unattractive or impossible targets for hackers.

Because blockchains allow for digital peer-to-peer money transfers without banks or regulatory oversight, they present attractive options for cyber-criminals who otherwise have to transact with physical cash. However, most blockchains are "public", meaning every account's transaction history and token balances are visible to everyone, making blockchains a risky option for money laundering. While this is a great feature for preventing cyber-criminals from having a safe getaway for their crimes and allows techniques like airdropping NFTs to combat crypto scams, it also exposes doxxed users to the risk of being robbed or blackmailed. To protect users' privacy, blockchain developers created cryptocurrency mixers, which take cryptocurrency deposits from many users to "mix" them together, and days later are withdrawn to newly created wallets that have no affiliation to their owners. While officially created with good intentions, "mixers" have since been used primarily as an automated money laundering service connected to many high-profile hacks. Thanks to mixers, a hacker or scammer can hide their history, and then cash out their crypto through legitimate channels.

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U.Today reported the United States Department of Treasury has added Tornado Cash to its Specially Designated Nationals list of sanctioned