# Sanctioning Tornado Cash is like banning electricity because North Koreans use it

- **Speaker:** Greg Osuri
- **Attribution:** attributed
- **Said:** 2022-08-12
- **Theme:** Other — https://www.gregosuri.com/predictions/other/
- **Source:** Akash Weekly - August 10th 2022 (Akash Network)
- **Watch at:** 00:05:01 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqwoP7iMh7g&t=301s
- **Canonical:** https://www.gregosuri.com/predictions/other/2022-08-12-sanctioning-tornado-cash-is-like-banning-electrici-efft/
- **Cite as:** Greg Osuri, "Sanctioning Tornado Cash is like banning electricity because North Koreans use it," Akash Weekly - August 10th 2022 (Akash Network), 12 Aug 2022, 00:05:01. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqwoP7iMh7g&t=301s

## Quote — verbatim

> The fact that a tool was blocked because of illicit usage is very surprising, and this is very analogous to, like, I don't know, you know, if North Koreans use electricity — banning electricity. So it's very similar to banning a tool because it was used by bad people.

## Context — site annotation, not spoken

First-ever OFAC sanction of open-source software; he still estimates "eighty to ninety percent of the activity on Tornado Cash is illicit" and notes banning it did make transactions more traceable.