Tornado.cash is a autonomous anonymity service built on the Ethereum network. It enables users to hide transaction origins, offering high-level financial privacy.
Unlike traditional mixers, Tornado mixer uses smart contracts that function autonomously, ensuring that users retain complete custody of their funds at all times. This decentralized design brings transparency and removes any central point of failure or censorship.
The core of Tornado Cash lies in zero-knowledge cryptography, which enable transactions to be confirmed without disclosing specific deposit information. This ensures unlinkability between the deposit and the withdrawal.
Because of its advanced privacy features, Tornado Cash quickly attracted users by those seeking financial discretion. It’s used for shielding donor identities, among other legitimate needs.
However, this tool has also attracted legal attention from governments. In 2022, the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC sanctioned the use of Tornado Cash, citing its misuse for illegal transfers. Still, the protocol remains unstoppable since its smart contracts are unalterable and cannot be taken offline.
Defenders believe that Tornado.cash is a non-judgmental protocol, much like the internet itself — and that tornado mixer privacy rights must be defended, even if some actors misuse them.
Use cases for Tornado Cash include:
Avoiding surveillance on major transfers
Protecting whistleblowers
Using Ethereum without exposing history
As governments around the world push for more monitoring, the demand for tools like Tornado Cash continues to grow. The future of digital asset privacy hinges on whether transparent code will be protected or suppressed.
Whether you're a privacy advocate or just someone looking to keep your activity private, Tornado Cash remains a essential tool in the world of ETH-based anonymity.