Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has committed to taking significant steps on its platform by reaching an agreement with the United States Department of Justice. Binance announced on November 27 that the native token of Tornado Cash, TORN, would be removed from its listings on December 7. This move is thought to be directed towards Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer sanctioned by the US. Following this announcement, the price of TORN fell by 42%.
This decision, which has been a topic of discussion among cryptocurrency communities, has been linked to Binance’s agreement to pay a record $4.3 billion fine for charges against the exchange last week. Clara Medalie, the Director of Growth at Kaiko Research, commented: “Binance, having made a deal with the Department of Justice, is under significant pressure to clean up internal conflicts, and I believe this includes their token listings. Tornado Cash is a sanctioned entity, hence keeping its token listed could further deteriorate the exchange’s already troubled relations with US regulators.”
The US Treasury Department added Tornado Cash to its sanctions list in August 2023 and claimed that the protocol was being used by cybercriminals and money laundering activities, including the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group.
In its announcement made on November 27, Binance decided not only to delist TORN but also the tokens of BitShares, PERL.eco, and Waltonchain, without providing any details regarding the reason for this decision in the shared announcement. Exchange officials only commented: “We periodically review every crypto asset we list, to ensure it continues to meet the high level of standard we expect. If a token fails to meet these standards or if industry conditions change, we consider removing it from the list after a deeper review. We do this to ensure the best protection for all of our users.”
Although TORN is not necessary to transact on the Tornado Cash platform, the token is used to vote on proposals in the protocol’s governance forum. According to the price analysis platform CoinGecko, Binance accounted for 66% of TORN’s trading volume in the last 24 hours.