Tornado Cash is a decentralized privacy protocol built on the Ethereum blockchain. It enables users to hide transaction origins, offering advanced financial confidentiality.
Unlike traditional mixers, Tornado.cash uses smart contracts that are self-executing and trustless, ensuring that users retain complete custody of their funds at all times. This trustless setup brings transparency and removes any central point of failure or censorship.
The core of Tornado.cash lies in zero-knowledge cryptography, which allow participants to verify without disclosing specific deposit information. This ensures transaction obfuscation between the deposit and the withdrawal.
Because of its advanced privacy features, Tornado mixer quickly became widely adopted by those seeking private fund movements. It’s used for securing personal fund flows, among other legitimate needs.
However, this tool has also attracted legal attention from regulators. In 2022, the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC sanctioned the use of Tornado.cash, citing its misuse for illegal transfers. Still, the protocol remains functional since its smart contracts are permanently deployed and cannot be taken offline.
Experts say that Tornado.cash is a permissionless system, much like the internet itself — and that privacy rights must be defended, even if some actors misuse them.
Use cases for Tornado mixer include:
Avoiding surveillance on major transfers
Sending donations safely
Using Ethereum without exposing history
As governments around the world push for more surveillance on tornado cash fund movement, the demand for tools like Tornado Cash continues to increase steadily. The future of on-chain anonymity hinges on whether open-source technology will be protected or suppressed.
Whether you're a privacy advocate or just someone looking to protect your funds, Tornado Cash remains a powerful tool in the world of ETH-based anonymity.