The legal battle between crypto advocacy group Coin Center and the U.S. Treasury Department over the sanctioning of crypto mixer Tornado Cash has come to an end, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissing Coin Center's appeal. The court granted a joint motion to vacate a lower court ruling and dismiss the case, following an agreement between Coin Center and the Treasury.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) initially sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, effectively prohibiting U.S. individuals and firms from engaging in financial interactions with it. Coin Center then filed a lawsuit, alleging that the Treasury Department had overstepped its statutory authority. Other lawsuits were also filed by interested parties, including six Tornado Cash users backed by crypto exchange Coinbase.

However, in March 2025, the Treasury Department removed the sanctions against the crypto mixer. This decision led to a joint motion from both parties to dismiss the appeal, as the government argued that removing the sanctions "moots" the appeal. Coin Center agreed that the appeal would become moot once a Texas judgment became final and unappealable.

Peter Van Valkenburgh, executive director at Coin Center, stated that the government was not interested in defending their "dangerously overbroad interpretation of sanctions laws". He announced the end of the court battle on X, formerly Twitter.

The initial sanctions against Tornado Cash sparked considerable debate within the cryptocurrency industry, raising concerns about privacy, censorship, and the potential for stifling innovation. Supporters of Tornado Cash argued that it provided a valuable service by allowing users to protect their financial privacy, while critics argued that it could be used to launder illicit funds.

In January 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ordered the repeal of OFAC sanctions against the mixing service, as part of the case filed by the six Tornado Cash users. In November 2024, the Fifth Circuit in Van Loon v. Treasury reversed a Texas court's decision, declaring that immutable smart-contract code is not property and cannot be sanctioned. The Treasury chose not to petition the Supreme Court after this ruling, instead opting to develop newer "targeted tools" to address illicit crypto flows more precisely.

The dismissal of the appeal marks the end of Coin Center's legal challenge against the Treasury's OFAC. The price of Tornado Cash's native token (TORN) briefly surged following the news before retracing. While this legal battle has concluded, Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm still faces a legal battle against U.S. authorities.