The Role of Law: An International Debate post Tornado Cash | Crypto Rising
In August, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) blacklisted a crypto mixer, Tornado Cash, over charges of being used by criminals for money laundering and arrested one of its developers. This marks the first time a software, rather than a person, was sanctioned by the authority.
The event created a stir in the industry, and the outraged crypto community came out in support of Tornado Cash.
We explore the controversy surrounding the sanctioning and deep dive into the debate between law vs tech and developers vs authority. Who will defend privacy and freedom of speech in the evolving world of web3.0?
Key themes:
> What is the industry-wide collateral impact of banning a neutral tech, Tornado Cash?
> Has OFAC overstepped its statutory authority in sanctioning a software?
> What are the legal implications of placing restrictions on open source smart contracts and does it set a bad precedent?
> Does the incident highlight yet another difficulty with applying existing regulations to crypto?
> And talking about privacy on DeFi, is it potentially criminal? Authorities across the world are closely scrutinising these services for money laundering/terrorism financing (ML/TF).
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Jonathan Crompton, Partner, RPC, Hong Kong
Jonathan Crompton helps companies and individuals navigate complex cross-border disputes and investigations involving their Asian business, specializing in particular in financial services and technology related disputes and cyber incidents.Jonathan advises on all forms of disputes including litigation before national courts and arbitral tribunals operating under various rules (in particular, HKIAC, ICC and UNCITRAL), and on investigations by regulators (notably financial services regulators such as the Securities and Futures Commission). His clients include senior individuals, asset managers, and leading multinational corporations and brands. As a result of RPC's predominantly 'conflict free' model for financial services disputes, Jonathan represents senior individuals and companies in claims brought by or against leading banks where other firms are unable to act. As Asia lead for RPC's 'ReSecure' 24/7 cyber incident response service, Jonathan also frequently acts as incident response manager / breach coordinator for cyber-attacks and other data breaches across Asia, helping clients investigate, manage and mitigate the harmful effects to their businesses, and advising on data protection regimes and reporting obligations across Asia. He also helps clients across the globe recover sums transferred as a result of cyber and other frauds.Jonathan has practiced in London, Hong Kong and Thailand and speaks English, French and conversational Swedish
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Sheila Warren, World Economic Forum
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Wei Zhou, CEO, Coins.ph
Wei Zhou is the CEO of Coins.ph, the Philippines’ leading fully-regulated fiat and crypto and mobile wallet provider. Mr Zhou and Joffre capital led the buyout of Coins.ph early this year and recently completed a $30 million Series C financing led by Ribbit Capital. Wei also serves as a strategic adviser and key investor in Old Fashion Research (OFR), a multi-strategy blockchain investment fund founded in 2021 by former executives and investment teams from Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Prior to his role at Coins.ph, Wei served as Chief Financial Officer of Binance, Zhaopin.com, and Charm Communications. He also led the landmark acquisition of Grindr, where he served as Vice Chairman.He started his career at Goldman Sachs, and he graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and East Asian Studies.
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Angie Lau, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Forkast News
Angie LauForkast NewsAs an award-winning 20+ year veteran in broadcast journalism, Angie is most recognized for her role as Bloomberg Television’s Asia anchor of “First Up with Angie Lau” where she’s collected 10,000+ interviews in her career, including some of the top newsmakers and business leaders in the world.Angie is a respected thought leader in blockchain technology, leading conversations around the world, including at OECD's Global Blockchain Policy Forum, World Economic Forum, Global Blockchain Business Council / UN General Assembly, Forbes Summit, Binance Blockchain Week, Paris Blockchain Week Summit, Asia Blockchain Summit, and many others.
