At Globe Live Media we explain what crypto mixers consist of and why it is not recommended to use them if you are in the US, a country that has said that these platforms represent a threat to national security

Few aspects of the world of cryptocurrencies cause as much controversy in the United States as crypto mixers, online platforms used by users to increase their anonymity and their transactions, even hiding the origin of their funds.

Crypto mixers are generally used so that cryptocurrency users can keep their operations private on the Ethereum Blockchain network, which, in theory, can be done for legitimate reasons. However, investigations by the US financial authorities have determined that crypto mixers have also been used for money laundering by terrorist and criminal organizations.

Regarding this topic, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren denounced that the elites of Russia —a country that has been heavily sanctioned financially due to the invasion it is carrying out in Ukraine— have precisely used crypto mixers as a way to avoid sanctions. economic policies imposed by the United States.

“We already knew that countries like North Korea had used cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions and launder at least millions of dollars. Russia could easily be a part of that,” Warren said at a Senate hearing, according to a review by The Hill news portal.

It is not the first time that the US government has turned its eyes on crypto mixers. In fact, it is a recurring theme for financial authorities. Recently, the Treasury Department sanctioned the Tornado Cash platform under the pretext that the crypto mixer helped launder money from cybercriminals.

Elizabeth Rosenberg, assistant secretary of the Financial Terrorism and Financial Crimes division of the Treasury Department, indicated that these sanctions could serve to deter criminals and sanctioned from using these platforms.

Why is it dangerous to use crypto mixers in the United States?

The sanction of the Tornado Cash platform, in the opinion of experts in the world of cryptocurrencies, made it clear that the Treasury Department could sanction these platforms in a general way, since it considers them a threat to national security.

In fact, currently, any operation involving the use of the Tornado Cash crypto mixer is eminently prohibited, unless the Department of the Treasury issues a specific use license for it, so if you use them, you will be committing a crime. This is where the danger of using this type of platform lies.

Senator Warren stated, according to The Hill news outlet’s review, that “if cryptocurrency users have nothing to hide when it comes to money laundering, oligarchs, drug dealers, or tax evaders, then they shouldn’t give a damn. little transparency.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency community is not sitting still. In fact, the Coinbase platform recently supported a civil lawsuit against the Treasury Department, arguing that this federal agency had exceeded its duties by sanctioning Tornado Cash.

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