The Tornado Cash Governance Shuffle: Community Regains Control After Unexpected Proposal

Tornado Cash Returns to Original Governance

In a surprising twist worthy of a soap opera, Tornado Cash’s governance tokenholders are about to reclaim their rightful throne. This comes after an unexpected proposal from the very attacker who executed a hostile takeover on the protocol. Yes, folks, you heard that right – the villain sometimes has a change of heart!

Proposal Passed with Flying Colors

On May 26, a major shift happened in the world of decentralized governance as the proposal to restore control to the original governance tokenholders sailed through the voting process. With an overwhelming 517,000 votes supporting the proposal and a grand total of zero votes against it, we can practically hear the cheer echoing through the blockchain.

A Governance Fiasco: How It All Went Down

But before you start toasting to the community’s victory, let’s not forget how we got here. The attacker, who managed to execute a high-stakes power play, gained a whopping 1.2 million votes through a devious proposal. This crafty maneuver allowed them to pass further proposals and seize control of the governance structure, leaving a few raised eyebrows in their wake.

Curiosity and Suspicion: The Attacker’s Proposal

In true dramatic fashion, just hours after the heist, our not-so-heroic hacker reached out to the Tornado Cash community. The aim? To propose restoring governance control—the very control they had just stolen! This peculiar gesture left the crypto crowd in a whirlpool of curiosity and suspicion, leading many to wonder about the attacker’s true motives.

Stringing Together a Web of Deception

As highlighted by crypto data journalist Martin Lee, the attacker didn’t just snag governance tokens; they also made off with 483,000 Tornado Cash (TORN) tokens. Swapping most of those for 485 Ether (ETH)—approximately $890,000 USD—left the thief with a neat stash of 39,000 TORN, or around $160,000. And because why not complicate matters, some of the ETH was funneled through Tornado Cash itself, effectively cloaking the illicit funds in anonymity like a well-prepared magic trick.

Tornado Cash: Controversial Origins and Current State

Tornado Cash, known for its Ethereum-based crypto mixing services, hasn’t exactly been a stranger to controversy. Snagged by the US Treasury with accusations of money laundering in August 2022, the protocol continues to tread the precarious waters of legality and governance. As we watch this drama unfold, one can’t help but wonder: Should crypto projects ever negotiate with hackers? Probably a topic for another day!