Wake up babe, there's a new filing in Tornado Cash, and it's just about as embarrassing as the rest of the shitshow the DOJ has been assembling over the past two years 👇 This time, it persists that Storm profited from Tornado Cash smart contracts, arguing directly against arguments made by the Fifth Circuit, which found that "none of the immutable smart contracts entitle the smart-contract creators to a benefit." Imagine a car manufacturer being held liable for profiting from illicit activity because a car they manufactured was used in a bank robbery, or a computer manufacturer because a machine they sold was used in a hack. Tornado Cash should have stopped illicit activity, even though we concede that Tornado Cash couldn't stop illicit activity, or so the argument goes. What about the Chainalysis sanctions oracle Tornado Cash implemented to block OFAC listed entities from accessing the service? That's "window dressing," the Government says – an inefficient step that was only taken to "make a public announcement that TC wasn't violating the law." OK then. The Government continues to appear to allege that the sole purpose of Tornado Cash was to enable criminal transactions, again making references to the prosecution of Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht – ignoring the fact that while Silk Road operated as a dark net market, Tornado Cash illicit transactions are only estimated to have made up around 14% of overall activity be the Government's own calculations, primarily pertaining to funds originating from hacks. What's worse is that the Government doubles down on charging the developers for the development of a User Interface, continuing to attempt to enforce FATF recommendation 66 against FinCEN guidance and despite the lack of official adoption. This case is a complete abomination of the US justice system. Everyone working on its prosecution should be fired.

The Rage

DOJ Doubles Down On Tornado Cash UI Charges

The US Government has filed its opposition to Tornado Cash's motion to reconsider the dismissal of criminal charges against the developers.

GM friendos, I don't get notifications on my Geyser project and when I checked this morning, I saw that someone donated +1M sats to the project last week. I don't think you guys know how far such a donation goes for an independent journalist like me. Thank you anon, whoever you are 🩷

Oopsiedoozles, Chainalysis wrongfully attributed almost twice the volume of hacked funds to North Korea than funds it found actually related "upon further investigation" This software is used to put people in jail

There's this notion in Bitcoin that we are building tools to help the world become a better place – but when faced with actual, real world problems, responses are often reactionary and self-serving. Bitcoin isn't private enough? You're just not using the right tools. The tools are too complicated? You're just not dedicated enough to the cause. Bitcoin fixes all your problems, you just need to spend countless hours of your life to understanding it. Yesterday, @Fight for the Future released a report on the usability of Bitcoin (and privacy coins) for activists, and it's a sobering look at how builders in this space have failed those they claim to help protect. No-KYC on- and off-ramps are still too hard to use. Coins need to be swapped between networks or privatized with dedicated software. Self-custody is easy, but wallets offering network-level protections are often not directed at non-technical users. We can ignore these criticisms if we want. Or we can stop gaslighting users and skeptics alike for not being educated or engaged enough, and start dedicating more resources to building tools that actually serve the needs of those who need it most.

Fight for the Future

Report Release & Call To Action: Financial Confidentiality in the Age of Digital Surveillance

By Lia Holland Today, Fight for the Future is publicly releasing an audit of current financial privacy technologies available to mutual aid organiz...