Vivek Ramaswamy Thinks Penalizing Tornado Cash Mixer Was 'Illegal And Unconstitutional'

U.S. Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Monday argued that the Treasury Department overstepped its jurisdiction when it sanctioned the crypto mixer Tornado Cash.

What Happened: Republican contenders Asa Hutchinson and Ramaswamy joined Democrat Dean Phillips in a discussion about the future of digital assets in the United States, organized by CoinDesk.

“Penalizing an entire protocol or an entire way of doing business is illegal and unconstitutional under the current law in contrast to going after individual bad actors," Ramaswamy was quoted as saying by The Block.

In August, a ruling was in favor of the Treasury Department’s decision to sanction the cryptocurrency mixer in 2022. Opponents from within the cryptocurrency sector contested this action, pointing out that Tornado Cash is software, not an individual, and argued that the Treasury overstepped its authority by imposing sanctions on the mixing service.

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Why It Matters: When asked by CoinDesk about interim measures for crypto businesses awaiting new legislation, Phillips said, “I do think that the FIT 21 bill is one that should be considered. I’m sure you would all agree with that and I think that’s why we have to make thoughtful decisions.”

Last week, in the final GOP Presidential debate Eliana Johnson of the Washington Free Beacon probed Ramaswamy regarding his advocacy for cryptocurrencies—citing the former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who succumbed to legal pressures, leading to his resignation and Binance's $4.3 billion settlement for criminal charges related to money laundering, including for “terrorist groups like Hamas.”

Ramaswamy responded, “Look, fraudsters, criminals and terrorists have been defrauding people for a long time. Our regulations need to catch up with the current moment. The fact that SBF was able to do what he did at FTX shows that whatever they have in the current framework isn't working. “

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading at $41,564, down 0.51% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro. 

Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock.com

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