Non-profit cryptocurrency think tank Coin Center has filed a lawsuit against the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), claiming the agency unlawfully overreached its authority when it criminalized interacting with Ethereum-based coin mixing service Tornado Cash.

Crypto exchange Coinbase could be setting a precedent for other crypto-based companies looking to work with traditional firms, according to a senior analyst at investment firm Oppenheimer.

The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro is seeking cryptocurrency firms to operate its tax property seasoning next year, allowing taxpayers to use crypto or fiat currency to pay. The move makes it the first Brazilian city to accept crypto for taxes.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Crypto Think Tank CoinCenter Sues US Treasury
• Google’s Deal With Coinbase a Sign of ‘Validation’: Oppenheimer
• Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro to Allow Citizens to Pay Property Taxes in Crypto

Crypto Think Tank CoinCenter Sues US Treasury

Non-profit cryptocurrency think tank Coin Center has filed a lawsuit against the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), claiming the agency unlawfully overreached its authority when it criminalized interacting with Ethereum-based coin mixing service Tornado Cash.

Coin Center’s lawsuit alleges the OFAC’s actions against Tornado Cash harmed Americans and their ability to transact privately on the Ethereum network. OFAC sanctioned Tonrado Cash in August, claiming North Korean hackers laundered hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of crypto through it.

Around 20% of Tornado Cash’s overall transaction volume was tied to a hack or exploit, the federal government alleged. The crypto industry opposed the move, pointing to the fact that OFAC was sanctioning software and that Tornado Cash does not have a central operator.

Coin Center sees the lawsuit as critical for users’ right to privacy. The think tank’s executive director Jerry Brito said:

“Not only are we fighting for privacy rights, but if this precedent is allowed to stand, OFAC could add entire protocols like Bitcoin or Ethereum to the sanctions list in [the] future, thus immediately banning them without any public process whatsoever.”

The lawsuit joins a similar federal suit filed last month against the US Treasury by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. That one argued that OFAC overstepped the law by banning a piece of open software unaffiliated with a company.

Google’s Deal With Coinbase a Sign of ‘Validation’: Oppenheimer

Crypto exchange Coinbase could be setting a precedent for other crypto-based companies looking to work with traditional firms, according to a senior analyst at investment firm Oppenheimer.

The analyst, Owen Lau, said that Coinbase’s partnership with Google is a sign of “validation” for the cryptocurrency industry, adding:

“Many crypto-native companies will go after these white-labeling paths, which is to provide the back-end crypto technology surfaces to traditional players so that they can expand their TAM.”

Earlier this week, Google announced it would use Coinbase Commerce to accept cryptocurrency payments for cloud services, while exploring Coinbase’s custody service, Coinbase Prime, to manage cryptoassets.

Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro to Allow Citizens to Pay Property Taxes in Crypto

The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro is seeking cryptocurrency firms to operate its tax property seasoning next year, allowing taxpayers to use crypto or fiat currency to pay. The move makes it the first Brazilian city to accept crypto for taxes.

It’s expected taxpayers will be able to use more than one digital asset to pay, and that other types of taxes will be payable using digital assets in the future. A recently published decree states that companies willing to provide the service must be registered with the city and comply with Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission’s requirements.

Crypto companies hired would provide cryptocurrency payments services and convert crypto to fiat currency, before transferring it to the city.

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