On Oct. 30, 2023, the district court ruled that Tornado Cash qualified as an “association” whose smart contracts amounted to blocked property under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, granting summary judgment to the Treasury. Coin Center’s November 2023 notice of appeal set up a circuit split when, on Nov. 26, 2024, the Fifth Circuit in Van Loon v. Treasury reversed a Texas court and declared that immutable smart-contract code is not property and cannot be sanctioned. Treasury chose not to petition the Supreme Court after Van Loon. Instead, on Mar. 21, it delisted every Tornado Cash address, stating that newer “targeted tools” would address illicit crypto flows more precisely.
