Senator Lummis chosen to chair Senate Subcommittee on Digital Assets  

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control can’t restore or reimpose sanctions against the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash, a US federal court has ruled.Austin federal court judge Robert Pitman said in an April 28 judgment that OFAC’s sanctions on Tornado Cash were unlawful and that the agency was “permanently enjoined from enforcing” sanctions.Tornado Cash users led by Joseph Van Loon had sued the Treasury, arguing that OFAC’s addition of the platform’s smart contract addresses to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list was “not in accordance with law.” OFAC had sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, accusing the protocol of helping launder crypto stolen by the North Korean hacking collective, the Lazarus Group.The agency dropped the platform from the sanctions list on March 21 and argued that the matter was “moot” after a court ruled in favor of Tornado Cash in January.This latest amended ruling prevents OFAC from re-sanctioning Tornado Cash or putting it back on the blacklist.Initially, the court denied a motion for partial summary judgment and granted in favour of the Treasury. However, the Fifth Circuit reversed the decision and instructed the lower court to grant partial summary judgment to the plaintiffs, which led to the sanctions being revoked. In March, the Treasury argued there was no need for a final court judgment in the lawsuit.An excerpt from Judge Robert Pitman’s ruling. Source: CourtListenerCrypto body petitions White House over Tornado CashOn April 28, the DeFi Education Fund petitioned White House crypto czar David Sacks to have prosecutors drop charges against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm.Related: Samourai Wallet, feds ask for time to mull dropping crypto mixer caseStorm was charged in August 2023 with helping launder over $1 billion in crypto through the protocol, and his trial is still set for July.The group said that the Department of Justice was attempting to hold software developers criminally liable for how others use their code, which they argued was “not only absurd in principle, but it sets a precedent that potentially chills all crypto development in the United States.”Magazine: Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF’s mysterious prison move: Hodler’s Digest

Australia’s financial intelligence agency has told inactive registered crypto exchanges to withdraw their registrations or risk having them canceled over fears that the dormant firms could be used for scams.There are currently 427 crypto exchanges registered with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), but the agency said on April 29 that it suspects a significant number are inactive and possibly vulnerable to being bought and co-opted by criminals.The agency is contacting any so-called digital currency exchanges (DCEs) that appear to no longer be trading, and AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said they’ll be told to “use it or lose it.”“Businesses registered with AUSTRAC are required to keep their details up to date; this includes details about services that are no longer provided,” he added.AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas says scammers can use inactive crypto firms to appear legitimate. Source: AUSTRACBusinesses wanting to offer Australians conversions between cash and crypto, including crypto ATM providers, must first register with AUSTRAC, which monitors for crimes including money laundering, terror financing and tax evasion.The agency can cancel a registration if it has reasonable grounds to believe the business is no longer active or offering crypto-related services.Ten firms have had their AUSTRAC registration canceled since 2019, with the most recent being FTX Express in June 2024, the local subsidiary of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX.AUSTRAC to launch public list of registered exchanges Following its blitz on inactive crypto exchanges, AUSTRAC said it will publish a list of registered exchanges to help Australians verify legitimate providers.Thomas said the goal is to make it harder for criminals to scam people and improve the integrity and accuracy of AUSTRAC’s register.“If a DCE does intend to offer a service, they need to contact us otherwise we will cancel the registration and this information will be added to the register,” he said.“Members of the public should feel confident that they can identify legitimate cryptocurrency providers that are registered and subject to regulatory oversight and that we are driving criminals out of this industry,” Thomas added. Related: Australia’s top court sides with Block Earner, dismisses ASIC appealIn February, the Anti-Money Laundering regulator took action against 13 remittance service providers and crypto exchanges, with over 50 others still being investigated regarding possible compliance issues.Six providers were refused registration renewal on the grounds that key personnel were either convicted, prosecuted, or charged with a serious offense.Australia has yet to pass crypto regulations. In August 2022, the ruling center-left Labor Party initiated a series of industry consultations to draft a crypto regulatory framework.In March, the government proposed a new crypto framework regulating exchanges under existing financial services laws ahead of a federal election slated for May 3.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

US Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly told Republican lawmakers that the chamber would address a bill on stablecoin regulation before the May 26 Memorial Day holiday.According to an April 29 Politico report, Thune made the comments in a closed-door meeting with Republican senators, who hold a slim majority in the chamber. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, was introduced by Senator Bill Hagerty in February and passed the Senate Banking Committee in March.Thune did not mention any crypto or blockchain-related bills in his public comments on US President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump has signed several executive orders with the potential to affect US crypto policy, including one affecting stablecoins. Still, many of the actions do not carry the force of law without an act of Congress.Related: $649B stablecoin transfers linked to illicit activity in 2024: ReportThe proposed GENIUS bill could essentially restrict any entity other than a “permitted payment stablecoin issuer” from issuing a payment stablecoin in the United States. The House of Representatives, also controlled by Republicans, has proposed a companion bill to the legislation: the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act.Trump accused of conflicts of interest over stablecoins, crypto venturesThe president’s executive order, signed on Jan. 23, established a working group to study the potential creation and maintenance of a national crypto stockpile and a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Republican lawmakers followed by introducing the STABLE and GENIUS acts.Trump also introduced the order before World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm backed by the president’s family, launched its US-dollar pegged USD1 stablecoin. Many Democratic lawmakers said that Trump’s ties to the firm, coupled with his political influence and position, could present an “extraordinary conflict of interest that could create unprecedented risks to our financial system” as Congress considers the two stablecoin bills.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions