Put a whole bunch of crypto transactions into a blender and lock them up in black box - what do you get? Something metaphorically similar to the experience of using a decentralized app called Tornado Cash. The currency mixer app allows users to move cryptocurrency around anonymously. But federal regulators say cyber criminals used the service for money laundering purposes. Tornado Cash was recently sanctioned by the U.S.Department of Treasury.

Privacy is a key objective of many crypto proponents. And it’s one of the features that makes the asset class attractive to some investors. If this principle can’t be guaranteed, some say crypto’s utility becomes questionable.

Bloomberg reporter Emily Nicolle joins this episode to discuss whether or not a decentralized service can truly be regulated, the issue of crypto privacy and the implications of sanctions on Tornado Cash and De–Fi in general.