They argue that the Treasury does not have the authority to prohibit Tornado Cash and its associated transactions. Their case is based on claims of government overreach and violations of their First Amendment rights. The plaintiffs contend that this legal battle is not about creating special rules for new technology, but rather about the excessive actions taken by the government. They believe that the Treasury is misusing a property sanctions statute to ban open-source software, which goes against the original purpose of the law. Coinbase, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, supports this lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Treasury, which was initiated on September 8, 2022. The filing includes six plaintiffs: Joseph Van Loon, Tyler Almeida, Alexander Fisher, Preston Van Loon, Kevin Vitale, and Nate Welch. It is important to mention that the majority of them have prior involvement with Tornado Cash. The first argument presented by the plaintiffs challenges the Treasury's classification of Tornado Cash as a foreign "national" to justify the sanctions. They argue that the Treasury's definition of Tornado Cash includes all holders of the TORN token, regardless of any common purpose or association. Based on the Treasury's own criteria, the plaintiffs argue that Tornado Cash cannot be classified as an unincorporated association. The second argument revolves around the nature of Tornado Cash's open-source smart contracts, which provide the functionality of the platform. The plaintiffs assert that these smart contracts should not be considered property because property typically refers to something that can be owned or possessed. Even if the smart contracts were deemed property, the third argument emphasizes that no entity associated with Tornado Cash has any "interest" in these contracts. As a result, the Treasury lacks the authority to impose sanctions on Tornado Cash based on its claimed interest. The final argument focuses on the violation of First Amendment rights. The plaintiffs assert that even if the Treasury has the authority to impose sanctions, doing so would infringe upon the free speech rights of Tornado Cash users. The Treasury cannot justify these restrictions by suggesting that users express their views elsewhere. The Treasury initially imposed sanctions on several addresses linked to Tornado Cash on August 8, 2022, shortly after the user interface code was made publicly available. In summary, the group of individuals challenging the Treasury's decision presents these four arguments to support their motion to reverse the sanctions imposed on Tornado Cash. They claim that the Treasury lacks authority, the smart contracts are not property, no entity has an interest in them, and the First Amendment rights of users would be violated by the sanctions. Also read- Shaquille O'Neal Faces FTX and Astral NFT Lawsuits During NBA GameA group of six individuals has presented four key arguments in their attempt to reverse the United States Treasury's decision to sanction Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer.
Plaintiffs Assert First Amendment Violation in Tornado Cash Sanctions Challenge
