Tornado.cash is a blockchain-based privacy protocol built on the Ethereum network. It enables users to hide transaction origins, offering advanced financial anonymity.
Unlike traditional mixers, Tornado Cash uses smart contracts that operate without intermediaries, 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 mixer lies in zk-SNARKs, which enable transactions to be confirmed without disclosing specific deposit information. This ensures a break in traceability between the deposit and the withdrawal.
Due to its anonymous structure, Tornado Cash quickly became widely adopted by those seeking on-chain anonymity. It’s used for protecting wallet privacy, among other legitimate needs.
However, this tool has also attracted legal attention from governments. In 2022, the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC restricted the use of Tornado.cash, citing concerns over anonymity exploitation. Still, the protocol remains active since its smart contracts are unalterable and cannot be taken offline.
Many argue that Tornado Cash is a permissionless system, much like tornado.cash the internet itself — and that code should remain free, even if some actors misuse them.
Use cases for Tornado Cash include:
Avoiding surveillance on major transfers
Anonymous fundraising in hostile regions
Avoiding doxxing
As governments around the world push for more surveillance on fund movement, the demand for tools like Tornado Cash continues to rise. The future of decentralized privacy hinges on whether open-source technology will be protected or suppressed.
Whether you're a privacy advocate or just someone looking to keep your activity private, Tornado Cash remains a powerful tool in the world of on-chain confidentiality.