Welcome back to The Breakdown with me, NLW.

It's a daily podcast on macro, Bitcoin, and the big picture power shifts remaking our world.

What's going on, guys? It is Monday, March 24th, and today we are talking about a huge victory

for the crypto industry and privacy more broadly. Before we get into that, however, if you're

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notes or go to bit.ly slash breakdown pod. All right, friends, well, the Treasury has dropped tornado

cash from the sanctions list, but there's a lot more to the story. On Friday, the Treasury's

office of foreign assets control or OFAC removed tornado cash from the sanctions list. In a press

release, the Treasury wrote,

we have exercised our discretion to remove economic sanctions against tornado cash. We remain

deeply concerned about the significant state-sponsored hacking and money laundering campaign

conducted by the Democratic People's Republic in North Korea. They warned that the Treasury

will continue to closely monitor transactions that, quote, may benefit malicious cyber actors or the DPRK, and U.S. persons should exercise caution before

engaging in transactions that present such risks. In comments that demonstrate the difficulty

of navigating this issue amid the administration's new position on crypto, Treasury Secretary Scott

Besant added, digital assets present enormous opportunities for

innovation and value creation for the American people. Securing the digital asset industry from

abuse by North Korea and other illicit actors is essential to establishing U.S. leadership and

ensuring that the American people can benefit from financial innovation and inclusion.

By way of background, Tornado cash was sanctioned in August 2022,

after becoming the favored money laundering vehicle for North Korean hackers. Since then,

...