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A federal appellate court's finding that U.S. officials exceeded their authority by blacklisting digital "smart contracts" in their action against a notorious cryptocurrency-mixing service two years ago could impact federal sanctions policies going forward. On Nov. 27, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated broad segments of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's designation of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service accused of laundering more than $7 billion since 2019, after determining that the open-source software targeted in the action does not constitute "property" under the relevant federal statute. OFAC's designation, its first of a decentralized mixer, barred interactions...