Did the arrest of the Tornado Cash developer signal another nail in the coffin of our civil rights?
Each subsequent step taken by the state to remove our liberties around money brings us closer to a life where no dissenting voices will be allowed.
When the trucker convoy supporters in Canada had their funds frozen, it was a wake-up call that supporting the “wrong” political causes could have scary consequences..
For a while though, crypto savvy people thought there was still a way to avoid those consequences by keeping funds outside the system (no banks or central exchanges).
However, the recent sanctions on Tornado Cash, a service unknown to those outside of crypto, tells a different story.
If your wallet address receives funds from Tornado Cash, you can get into serious trouble with the US government (30 years in prison).
The unfortunately reality with crypto transactions is I can’t stop you from sending funds to my wallet.
Therefore, I am at risk of a jail sentence if a random person sends me funds from Tornado Cash.
Back the the developer who wrote the code.
LOADS of people write code around blockchain, including other apps that function as privacy protectors (in this case a mixing service).
Lightning which runs on Bitcoin ALSO has privacy elements to it that disguise the original wallet address.
Is anyone who creates software that COULD be used by a criminal going to be subject to arrest?
That’s insane if you think about how many services a criminal uses - email, text messaging, chat rooms, rental cars, hotels - among MANY others.
It means we are closer to potentially being charged with a crime that COULD happen in the future.
Taking it even one step further, there has been no due process in this situation.
I understand that is not a right people in other countries have, but it is still part of the US Constitution.
In the case of the sanctioned ETH wallets, whose owners could face serious jail time for receiving funds, will they be granted this right?
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