A significant victory for the decentralized finance (DeFi) community has been secured as a US District Judge ruled that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is prohibited from reinstating sanctions imposed on the cryptocurrency mixer, Tornado Cash. This ruling, delivered by Judge Robert Pitman in the Western District of Texas, marks a major milestone for web3 development both domestically and internationally. The case centered around OFAC’s designation of Tornado Cash as a Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) entity in 2022 on grounds that it facilitated illicit financial activity by North Korea-linked hackers. However, Tornado Cash’s legal team successfully challenged the sanctions based on arguments about its lack of personhood, the immutability of smart contracts, and constitutional violations related to free speech and privacy rights.