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Snoop Dogg, Steve Aoki, Logan Paul, and Beeple Dusted by OFAC-Banned Tornado Cash Transactions

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Following the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) banning Tornado Cash and a number of associated Ethereum-based addresses, an anonymous Tornado Cash user has dusted a swathe of well known wallets tied to ENS domain names. Onchain data shows that a number of celebrities and organizations received 0.1 ether from the platform. Blockchain explorers indicate Linkin Park’s Steve Aoki, Youtuber Logan Paul, the Ukraine Crypto Donations address, comedian Jimmy Fallon, the sneaker company Puma, and rap star Snoop Dogg are among the recipients.

Celebs and Well Known Organizations Receive 0.1 Ether From the Tornado Cash Platform

Things got interesting following the recent United States government ban against the ethereum (ETH) mixer Tornado Cash after a number of well known organizations and celebrities received funds from the sanctioned platform. The organizations and celebrity addresses are public knowledge because many of them purchased Ethereum Name Service domains and others have shared their public addresses by showing off their valuable non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

For instance, it is public knowledge that “Shady_Holdings” is an account on Opensea and its associated ethereum address is connected to Marshall Mathers, otherwise known as the rap star Eminem. Mathers, however, got lucky and did not get dusted like some of the other famous NFT collectors that did receive OFAC-banned ethereum.

It’s not guaranteed that the ENS domain names that were dusted are directly connected with the names registered, as anyone can register an ENS name if it’s not yet taken. But the public is aware of many individuals and companies that have revealed purchasing ENS domains, like when the American beer manufacturer Budweiser purchased the beer.eth ENS name for $96K on August 11, 2021. A few celebrities who bought expensive blue chip NFTs like Bored Apes or Cryptopunks have purchased these NFTs with registered ENS domains using their actual name.

On August 9, 2022, reports detailed that an anonymous Tornado Cash user dusted or sent small fractions of ETH to a number of ENS names that are ostensibly tied to celebs and well known organizations. The sender sent 0.1 ETH worth $168 to a great number of addresses, some of which allegedly belong to the sneaker giant Puma and the Ukraine Crypto Donations ether address. Furthermore, ENS names reportedly tied to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz were sent a small fraction of the so-called ‘tainted ether’ as well.

Onchain data shows Snoop Dogg’s alias ENS name “Cozomo de’ Medici” was dusted. Youtuber Logan Paul, Steve Aoki from Linkin Park, the popular NFT artist Beeple, and the American television host and comedian Jimmy Fallon were recipients in the dusting. Randi Zuckerberg, Shaquille O’Neal, and Dave Chappelle were also dusted by OFAC-banned ether.

A majority of the ENS names have been verified to be associated with the actual person because at one time they were showing off their beloved NFT. Because it’s illegal for an American to interact with Tornado Cash in any way, those who do associate with the platform may get investigated and some may face charges for disobeying sanctions laws.

However, because the mass dusting caught the attention of the media and crypto users on social media, it’s pretty clear that the dusted people and organizations had no intention of receiving funds from the sanctioned entity. U.S. laws note that any American citizen or U.S.-based organization that intentionally interacts with Tornado Cash or any of the sanctioned crypto addresses, can face penalties like prison time and fines between $90,000 to $308,000 per violation.

What do you think about the mass Tornado Cash dusting of famous people and organizations? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

OFAC’s Tornado Cash Ban Causes Github Suspensions and the Blacklisting of Crypto Addresses Holding $437M

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OFAC's Tornado Cash Ban Causes Github Suspensions and the Blacklisting of Crypto Addresses Holding $437M

On August 8, the ethereum mixing service Tornado Cash, and all the crypto addresses associated with the platform, were officially banned by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). Following the ban, the internet hosting service for software and open source code development, Github, erased some of the Tornado Cash commits and suspended some of the project’s contributors.

Tornado Cash Github Contributors Suspended from Github, Blacklisted ERC20s Left to Liquidity Providers

Tornado Cash has become a topical conversation in the world of cryptocurrencies as the U.S. government decided to ban the privacy-enhancing ethereum mixing service on Monday. The U.S. Treasury Department’s watchdog OFAC did not disclose exactly why Tornado Cash was sanctioned but it is suspected that it was due to the North Korean hacking syndicate known as Lazarus Group.

Lazarus Group associates allegedly used Tornado Cash to mix funds. On April 15, 2022, the official Tornado Cash Twitter account explained that it had blocked flagged ethereum addresses listed on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons list (SDN). “Tornado Cash uses [a] Chainalysis oracle contract to block OFAC sanctioned addresses from accessing the dapp,” the project’s social media account said at the time. The Tornado Cash Twitter account added:

Maintaining financial privacy is essential to preserving our freedom, however, it should not come at the cost of non-compliance.

Now reports detail that developers that have contributed to the Tornado Cash codebase on Github have been suspended and a few commits have been deleted. Tornado Cash’s founder, Roman Semenov, explained that his Github account was suspended. “My Github account was just suspended. Is writing an open source code illegal now?” Semenov asked. According to a Twitter user dubbed “Bowtiediguana,” all the addresses OFAC associated with Tornado Cash hold roughly $437 million in stablecoins like USDC and USDT, alongside ETH and WBTC as well.

After the OFAC ban, Circle blacklisted all of the usd coin (USDC) associated with the Tornado Cash platform. Bowtiediguana expects Tether and Bitgo, the custodian of WBTC, to do the same thing, as these ERC20 tokens can be frozen at the smart contract level. The defi educator also expects the ERC20 custodians like Bitgo to “suspend redemptions of the tainted WBTC, rendering those tokens worthless.” Bowtiediguana added:

Liquidity providers will likely end up as bagholders for blocked WBTC (and stablecoin) assets if they do not pull liquidity from DEX *immediately*.

Ethereum Proponent Says OFAC Ban Was the ‘Opening Shot of Big Brother’s Attack on Crypto’

Meanwhile, after the ban, a great number of crypto community members discussed the U.S. government’s actions. “I’m sure the bad guys will stop using Tornado Cash because it’s ‘illegal,’” Shapeshift founder Erik Voorhees wrote. “Just like they don’t use illegal weapons, smuggle illegal drugs, or illegally launder money through every means they can find. Law-abiding Americans are the only ones hurt by this,” Voorhees added. Ethereum proponent Ryan Adams called the ban an attack on crypto.

“Today the US sanctioned Ethereum addresses associated w/ a privacy service called Tornado cash. Circle immediately froze the USDC in those accounts. GitHub suspended contributors to Tornado. If you were waiting for the opening shot of big brother’s assault on crypto this was it,” Adams said. Crypto proponents discussed other ideas like decentralizing Github in a censorship-resistant fashion and others talked about creating “new instances of the Tornado contract.”

What do you think about OFAC banning the ethereum mixing application Tornado Cash? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

US Government Bans Ethereum Mixer Tornado Cash, Platform Added to OFAC’s SDN List

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US Government Bans Ethereum Mixer Tornado Cash, Platform Added to OFAC's SDN List

On Monday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s watchdog the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) banned the ethereum mixing application Tornado Cash. OFAC has cited that the mixer has helped North Korean hackers such as the hacking syndicate known as Lazarus Group.

OFAC Sanctions Tornado Cash Mixing App

  • OFAC has officially banned the Tornado Cash and Tornado Cash Classic websites alongside all of the digital currency addresses allegedly associated with the site.
  • “The following entity has been added to OFAC’s SDN list: Tornado Cash,” OFAC’s Cyber-related Designation report says.
  • The U.S. Treasury Department’s watchdog mentioned dozens of addresses that have held usd coin (USDC) or ethereum (ETH).
  • With OFAC has adding Tornado Cash and the ETH addresses allegedly tied to the platform, it means that all U.S. persons and business entities are strictly prohibited from using the mixer.
  • Since 2020, the U.S. has enacted legislation that can penalize any U.S. persons or entities that violate the Specially Designated Nationals list. Anyone who breaks the rule can face prison time and anywhere between $90,000 to $308,000 per violation.
  • The news follows the recent Debridge Finance announcement when the project’s co-founder Alex Smirnov said Debridge’s team was attacked by the infamous North Korean hacking syndicate Lazarus Group.

  • Additionally, in mid-April 2022, the former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for a presentation that gave North Korea ““technical advice on using cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to evade sanctions.”
  • OFAC has already added a few crypto addresses to the SDN list back in April. The U.S. watchdog also assumed that the recent Ronin bridge attack (Axie Infinity) was connected to the hackers from Lazarus Group.


What do you think about OFAC banning the ethereum mixing application Tornado Cash? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Debridge Finance Suspects North Korean Hacking Syndicate Lazarus Group Attacked the Protocol’s Team

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Debridge Finance Suspects North Korean Hacking Syndicate Lazarus Group Attacked the Protocol's Team

According to the co-founder of Debridge Finance, Alex Smirnov, the infamous North Korean hacking syndicate Lazarus Group subjected Debridge to an attempted cyberattack. Smirnov has warned Web3 teams that the campaign is likely widespread.

Lazarus Group Suspected of Attacking Debridge Finance Team Members With a Malicious Group Email

There’s been a great number of attacks against decentralized finance (defi) protocols like cross-chain bridges in 2022. While most of the hackers are unknown, it’s been suspected that the North Korean hacking collective Lazarus Group has been behind a number of defi exploits.

In mid-April 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Treasury Department, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said Lazarus Group was a threat to the crypto industry and participants. A week after the FBI’s warning, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) added three Ethereum-based addresses to the Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List (SDN).

OFAC alleged that the group of Ethereum addresses are maintained by members of the cybercrime syndicate Lazarus Group. Additionally, OFAC connected the flagged ethereum addresses with the Ronin bridge exploit (the $620M Axie Infinity hack) to the group of North Korean hackers. On Friday, Alex Smirnov, the co-founder of Debridge Finance, alerted the crypto and Web3 community about Lazarus Group allegedly attempting to attack the project.

“[Debridge Finance] has been the subject of an attempted cyberattack, apparently by the Lazarus group. PSA for all teams in Web3, this campaign is likely widespread,” Smirnov stressed in his tweet. “The attack vector was via email, with several of our team receiving a PDF file named “New Salary Adjustments” from an email address spoofing mine. We have strict internal security policies and continuously work on improving them as well as educating the team about possible attack vectors.” Smirnov continued, adding:

Most of the team members immediately reported the suspicious email, but one colleague downloaded and opened the file. This made us investigate the attack vector to understand how exactly it was supposed to work and what the consequences would be.

Smirnov insisted that the attack would not infect macOS users but when Windows users open the password-protected pdf, they are asked to use the system password. “The attack vector is as follows: user opens [the] link from email -> downloads & opens archive -> tries to open PDF, but PDF asks for a password -> user opens password.txt.lnk and infects the whole system,” Smirnov tweeted.

Smirnov said that according to this Twitter thread the files contained in the attack against the Debridge Finance team were the same names and “attributed to Lazarus Group.” The Debridge Finance executive concluded:

Never open email attachments without verifying the sender’s full email address, and have an internal protocol for how your team shares attachments. Please stay SAFU and share this thread to let everyone know about potential attacks.

Lazarus Group and hackers, in general, have made a killing by targeting defi projects and the cryptocurrency industry. Members of the crypto industry are considered targets because a number of firms deal with finances, an assortment of assets, and investments.

What do you think about Alex Smirnov’s account of the alleged Lazarus group email attack? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.

Putin Signs Law Prohibiting Payments With Digital Assets in Russia

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Putin Signs Law Prohibiting Payments With Digital Assets in Russia

President Vladimir Putin of Russia has signed into law a bill banning payments with digital financial assets. The legislation obliges exchange operators to refuse to process transactions facilitating the use of DFAs, a legal category currently covering cryptocurrencies, as “monetary surrogates.”

President Putin Approves Legislation Banning Digital Asset Payments in Russian Federation


Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law imposing direct restrictions on the use of digital financial assets (DFAs) as a means of payment inside his country, the crypto page of the RBC business news portal reported. The ban applies to utilitarian digital rights (UDRs) as well.

Russia is yet to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies, but the law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which went into force in January 2021, introduced the two legal terms. Russian officials have in the past indicated that DFA encompasses cryptocurrencies while UDR applies to various tokens. This fall, Russian lawmakers will review a new bill “On Digital Currency” designed to fill the regulatory gaps.

The legislation approved now by Russia’s head of state was filed with the State Duma, the Russian parliament’s lower house, on June 7 by the Chairman of the Financial Market Committee Anatoly Aksakov, and adopted a month later. Until now, Russian law did not explicitly prohibit payments with digital assets, although “monetary surrogates” are banned and the status of the ruble as the only legal tender is enshrined.

While the bill outlaws the exchange of DFAs “for transferred goods, performed works, rendered services,” it leaves the door open for cases of DFA payments envisaged in other federal laws. Amid expanding financial restrictions, imposed as part of Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, a proposal to legalize small-scale crypto payments in foreign trade with Russia’s partners has been gaining support in Moscow.

Along with banning direct payments with digital financial assets, the law also obliges the operators of platforms offering exchange services to reject any transactions that can potentially lead to the use of DFAs to substitute the Russian ruble as a payment instrument.

The new legislation will enter into force 10 days after its publication in Russia’s government gazette. Regarding the option for exemptions in its application, the RBC report notes that Russian legal experts have already highlighted certain controversies in the document.

Do you expect Russian businesses to find a legal way to use cryptocurrencies in payments? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.