Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, criticized the U.S. Treasury for not complying with a court ruling to remove Tornado Cash from the sanctions list. The Fifth Circuit Court ruled that Tornado Cash's immutable smart contracts do not qualify as property under U.S. sanctions laws, necessitating its removal from the Treasury's SDN list. Despite this, the Treasury requested more time to comply, citing national security concerns and the broader designation of Tornado Cash as a sanctioned entity. Grewal argued that the Treasury's response was inadequate and announced Coinbase's intention to support the court ruling and challenge the Treasury's stance. The case was previously overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals and sent for retrial.

PANews March 19 news, according to Cryptonews, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal criticized the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday for ignoring the Fifth Circuit Court's ruling to remove Tornado Cash from the sanctions list, pointing out that the government mistakenly applied sanctions laws to immutable smart contracts. Grewal's remarks on X were a response to the U.S. government's handling of the Fifth Circuit Court's recent ruling, which determined that Tornado Cash's immutable smart contracts did not qualify as property under U.S. sanctions laws. The court determined that this classification meant that Tornado Cash must be removed from the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list.
 Despite the court ruling, Treasury officials said in court documents that they would proceed with removing Tornado Cash from the list but requested more time, saying the ruling only applies to immutable smart contracts and does not affect the broader designation of Tornado Cash as an entity subject to sanctions. The Treasury also cited national security concerns that mixers are being used to launder money, particularly funds from North Korea's Lazarus Group. Grewal countered that the Treasury's response was inadequate and suggested it had not learned from the court ruling. He said Coinbase would file a response supporting the court ruling and challenging the Treasury's approach.
 Earlier in January, it was reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the Tornado Cash sanctions decision and sent the case back for retrial .

Coinbase Criticizes U.S. Treasury for Ignoring Court Ruling on Tornado Cash