Coinbase-backed plaintiffs renew legal fight to end ban on Tornado Cash

• Coinbase backed plaintiffs requested a partial summary judgment in their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Treasury.
• The case was filed last year after the Office of Foreign Asset Control sanctioned the popular Ethereum mixer Tornado Cash. 

Six plaintiffs backed by America’s largest crypto exchange Coinbase are pursuing a renewed legal action against the United States Department of Treasury. The plaintiffs, who sued the Treasury Department back in September 2022 over the sanctions placed on Tornado Cash, are requesting the court to deliver a partial summary judgment in the case. 

Plaintiffs file motion for partial summary judgment

According to a filing made in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, the plaintiffs backed by Coinbase have requested the judge to deliver a partial summary judgment. 

With this motion, the plaintiffs are hoping to get the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) to settle for two of the three counts listed in the original complaint against the Treasury Department. The counts include violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Administrative Procedure Act.

Coinbase has supported the six individuals in their legal battle against the Department of Treasury. Its Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, took to Twitter on 6 April to comment on the developments in the case.

A few months ago, Coinbase backed a legal challenge to sanctions imposed by the US govt against Tornado Cash. Today the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the court to reopen TC for all. Their arguments are simple but powerful. 1/10 https://t.co/xSngWKxM3x

— Paul Grewal (@iampaulgrewal) April 5, 2023

Grewal further said:

“If immutable open source software code can be sanctioned, it’s hard to see why the government can’t now ban any intangible concepts, which can’t be what Congress meant when it chose the word property. We appreciate the Court’s careful consideration of these important issues.”

The lawsuit was filed last year after OFAC added popular Ethereum mixer Tornado Cash to its Specially Designated Nationals list. This prohibited entities and individuals from interacting with the sanctioned mixer service. Plaintiffs maintained that this was not in accordance with the law. The lawsuit also named Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and OFAC Director Andrea M. Gacki as well.