One of the early contributors behind leading coin-mixing service Tornado.Cash has announced the launch of an updated version of controversial software.
In a tweet to his 36,000 Twitter followers, Ameen Soleimani that Tornado Cash has been “fixed” with the launch of Privacy Pools, which is built on Ethereum-scaling solution Optimism (
“We fixed [Tornado Cash]
v0 of privacypools.com is live on [Optimism]
test out the demo, but please note:
– this is experimental code
– it has not been audited
– the trusted setup is untrusted”
With Privacy Pools, Soleimani says that users will now have the option to help regulators isolate illicit funds, without revealing their transactions history.
“In my personal opinion, privacypools.com is strictly better than TornadoCash
With privacy pools, just because someone deposits into the same smart contract as you, it doesn’t mean they can also force you into sharing an anonymity set with them.
It’s your choice.
Some might disagree, but because privacypools.com enhances user sovereignty by giving users more choice, not less, I don’t believe it counts as ‘narcware.'”
The developer adds that Privacy Pools won’t be the final product, and that the shipping of the new app is to “start a conversation” and “help regulators understand a potentially more attractive equilibrium between privacy and regulation that we didn’t even know existed a few months ago.
Tornado.Cash was blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department last year under alleged national security threats.
The creator of Tornado Cash, Alexey Pertsev, was also arrested in Amsterdam last year, and has been in prison ever since, despite not being convicted of any crime. He is awaiting a hearing slated for April.
