What is Tornado Cash?

When it comes to transaction anonymity that hackers use the most, no one would not think of Tonado Cash.

Tornado Cash is a tool used to increase the privacy of cryptocurrency transactions by “mixing” or “tumbling” cryptocurrencies from multiple users to make it impossible to track who is the sender or the receiver.

How Tornado Cash Works

1. Deposit: Users deposit coins, such as ETH or ERC-20 tokens, into a Tornado Cash smart contract.
2. Receive cryptographic note: When coins are deposited, a “cryptographic note” is created, which is a code that the user will use to withdraw the coins.
3. Wait time: Users can wait a certain amount of time before withdrawing, for increased privacy.
4. Withdraw: Users can withdraw coins to a new address without being able to track where the coins came from.

Tornado Cash Legal Issues and Sanctions

In August 2022, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Tornado Cash, alleging that the tool was used to launder more than $7 billion, including funds stolen by North Korea’s Lazarus hacking group.

However, in March 2025, the US Treasury Department lifted the sanctions after a US appeals court ruled that Tornado Cash was uncontrollable software and could not be sanctioned.

Advantages of Tornado Cash

• Increased privacy in crypto transactions
• Allows users to donate or transact anonymously

Disadvantages of Tornado Cash

• Used by criminal groups to launder money
• Sanctioned by some governments

Tornado Cash Current Status

Despite past sanctions, Tornado Cash remains a popular tool in the cryptocurrency space, especially when it comes to protecting user privacy.

How to use Tornado Cash

1. Prepare an Ethereum-compatible crypto wallet, such as MetaMask.
   Download and install MetaMask (or another supported wallet).
   Top up the ETH or ERC-20 tokens you want to send to Tornado Cash.
   
2. Go to the Tornado Cash website (https://tornado.cash) — IMPORTANT! Double-check the URL to avoid phishing.
   
3. Select the amount of coins you want to “Deposit”.
   Tornado Cash is available in denominations of 0.1, 1, 10 ETH or ERC-20 coins, depending on the supported tokens.
   Important: Select the number of coins as specified by the system. You cannot deposit other amounts. For example, if you want to deposit 5 ETH, you must split it into 1 ETH x 5 times or 0.1 ETH x 50 times.
   
4. Press “Deposit” and connect your Wallet.
   The system will generate a “cryptographic note” or “secret note” for you to keep safe. This is the key to withdrawing your token.
   Never forget or lose it, because it cannot be recovered.
   
5. Wait for a period of time to increase privacy.
   During this time, your coins will be “mixed” with other token in Tornado Cash to make them untraceable.
   
6. Withdraw coins to a new address
   Go to the “Withdraw” page.
   Enter the “secret note” you received when you deposited it.
   Enter a new Wallet address (the new address where you want your coins to go)
   Press “Withdraw” and confirm the transaction via Wallet.
   If you want to add another layer of security, withdraw your coins to an address that you have never used before (New Address).
   
7. Done! The withdrawn coins will be in a new wallet without anyone being able to trace them back.

Precautions and tips

• Keep your secret note safe! If you lose it, you lose your money.
• Don’t withdraw immediately after depositing. Wait for a while to mix your coins to make it safer.
• Don’t mix your coins with transactions related to yourself, such as using the same address will make it easier to trace.
• Be aware of local laws. Using Tornado Cash may be considered money laundering in some countries.

Summary of Tornado cash usage

Deposit coins → Get secret note → Wait for mixing → Withdraw coins to new address → Not tracked

Tornado cash platform history and founders

Tornado Cash is an open-source, multi-chain platform that increases the privacy of crypto transactions, using zk-SNARKs technology to hide the origin of crypto from depositors to receivers.

Tornado Cash History and Founders

Tornado Cash was created in 2019 by three developers

• Roman Semenov
• Alexey Pertsev
• Roman Storm

The project was launched to provide privacy-respecting services on Ethereum, where transactions on the blockchain are usually verifiable.

In August 2022, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Tornado Cash, alleging that the platform had been used to launder more than $7 billion, including funds stolen by North Korean hacking group Lazarus.

Later in August 2023, Alexey Pertsev was arrested in Amsterdam on charges of laundering money through Tornado Cash.

Despite past sanctions, Tornado Cash remains a tool in use in the cryptocurrency space, particularly when it comes to protecting user privacy.

Tornado cash summary

Tornado Cash is an Ethereum-based crypto mixing platform that enhances privacy using zk-SNARKs technology. Founded in 2019 by Roman Semenov, Alexey Pertsev, and Roman Storm, it aims to hide the origin of transactions. It is currently used for both legal and illegal purposes, such as money laundering, leading to sanctions by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 and the arrest of some of its founders. Despite the ban, Tornado Cash remains an important tool for maintaining crypto users’ privacy and should be used with due care regarding legality and security.

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