The price of TORN, the native token of Tornado Cash, soared after a U.S. court overturned sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department’s OFAC. The token rose 140% from $9.50 on January 22 to over $25 before settling at $17, marking a 122% weekly increase.

OFAC had sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, citing its use by North Korea’s Lazarus Group to launder over $455 million in stolen cryptocurrencies. Legal actions against its developers, including Alex Pertsev and Roman Storm, followed. Pertsev was sentenced to five years for money laundering, while Storm faces trial in April 2025.

In a landmark ruling, the court upheld a November 2024 judgment that Tornado Cash's immutable smart contracts could not be classified as "property" under the IEEPA, as they operate autonomously and cannot be owned or controlled. This decision challenged OFAC's justification for sanctions but does not affect the ongoing criminal cases against the platform’s co-founders.

Despite cooling from its peak, TORN’s price remains significantly higher, outperforming the broader crypto market. Its market cap now exceeds $68 million.