Tornado Cash dropped by 56% on Monday after Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said it will delist the token.
The token plummeted from nearly $4.00 to $1.66 at 2:55 p.m. ET, according to CoinGecko.
"We periodically review each digital asset we list to ensure that it continues to meet the high level of standard we expect," Binance said in post. "When a coin or token no longer meets this standard, or the industry changes, we conduct a more in-depth review and potentially delist it. We believe this best protects all our users."
Binance said it plans to delist Tornado Cash along with BitShares, PERL.eco and Waltonchain tokens on December 7. BitShares fell by about 44%, and Waltonchain declined about 59% on Monday. PERL.eco also declined 59%, according to CoinGecko.
Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm pleaded not guilty in a New York District Court in September after after he and fellow co-founder Roman Semenov were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors called Tornado Cash "an infamous cryptocurrency mixer that laundered more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds and violated U.S. sanctions."
Binance last week agreed to a historic settlement with U.S. authorities that will see the crypto exchange pay $4.3 billion in penalties and forfeiture after felony guilty pleas connected to Bank Secrecy Act violations. New Binance CEO Richard Teng on Monday outlined his vision for the crypto exchange, focusing on a commitment to regulatory collaboration.
Tornado Cash sanctioned
Last year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, designated Tornado Cash as a sanctioned entity, which barred both people in the U.S. and companies wishing to operate in the U.S. from engaging in financial interactions with the open-source software. Tornado Cash can be used to anonymize transactions on the Ethereum blockchain.
Some crypto advocates have been critical of U.S. authorities for targeting Tornado Cash.
