Tornado Cash Surpasses $1.8 Billion in Deposits in H1, a 45% Increase Compared to Entire 2023
Popular crypto mixing protocol Tornado Cash has experienced a resurgence in 2024, with deposits surpassing $1.8 billion in the first half of the year.
The figure is up by 45% compared to the total amount deposited in the crypto mixer during the entirety of 2023, according to blockchain analytics firm Flipside Crypto.
The renewed surge in Tornado Cash activity comes as the platform’s activity had dwindled following sanctions imposed by the US government two years ago.
In recent times, Tornado Cash has observed a substantial influx of funds from hackers involved in major thefts.
Notably, the perpetrator behind the Poloniex exchange heist, who made off with over $100 million last year, transferred $76 million to Tornado Cash in the past two months, as reported by Arkham Intelligence.
Additionally, hackers responsible for exploiting the HECO Bridge and Orbit Chain have moved $166 million and $47.7 million, respectively, to the mixer this year.
In August 2022, Tornado Cash faced sanctions from the US Treasury due to its involvement in laundering more than $455 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen by the North Korea-affiliated hacking group, Lazarus.
Following the sanctions, monthly deposits to Tornado Cash plummeted by over 90%.
However, the decentralized nature of the protocol poses challenges for US authorities in effectively monitoring its usage.
“Consistent with a general uptick in market activity, mixers have begun to see a resurgence in 2024,” blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said in a recent report.
“When looking at the growth of individual mixing services overall, we see that WasabiWallet, JoinMarket, and Tornado Cash have grown the most.”
Mixing services like Tornado Cash were originally developed to uphold privacy, a
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