Tornado Cash Reborn as ETHTornado on MegaETH Blockchain
A developer going by the pseudonym Gunboats has ported the once-sanctioned Tornado Cash protocol to the newly launched MegaETH blocchain’s public testnet through a contract called ETHTornado, bringing private transactions to a high-throughput network boasting speeds of up to 20,000 transactions per second.
The new contract reintroduces privacy functionality reminiscent of Tornado Cash to MegaETH, a Layer 2 blockchain that has recently attracted attention for its technical performance and scalability. Gunboats said the decision to port the protocol followed the US Department of Treasury’s move earlier this year to remove Tornado Cash-related wallet addresses from the OFAC sanctions list after a court ruling in January.
Also read: Lazarus Group Moves 400 ETH to Tornado Cash Amid New Malware Threats
“I thought, maybe someone should try to deploy [Tornado Cash] on the hottest thing right now… there is no change in code needed and that’s really a good thing,” Gunboats said on X, calling the move “half a joke.”
Despite the light-hearted tone, the port demonstrates the evolving ease of smart contract development. Gunboats noted they used the older Truffle framework for the deployment, highlighting how tools like Foundry and Solidity now streamline such processes. “Nowadays you can just use Foundry and write everything in Solidity,” they added.
Dusting and Airdrop Eligibility Concerns
While some members of the crypto community applauded the launch of ETHTornado, others raised concerns about potential “wallet dusting” — a tactic in which tiny amounts of crypto are sent to many wallets, possibly tainting them in the eyes of compliance tools or disqualifying them from future airdrops.
Also read: MegaETH Launches Public Testnet, Challenging Ethereum’s Rollup-Centric Future
The issue gained attention after MegaETH’s team reportedly airdropped testnet tokens to 190,000 wallets in just 15 seconds. Despite OFAC no longer listing Tornado Cash addresses, some projects continue to auto-exclude wallets that have interacted with privacy mixers like Tornado Cash from airdrops or platform access.
“It’s really silly anyway whether you can dust people wallet at 10ms or 12 seconds a time, the end result is you got put on the list,” Gunboats said in response to these concerns.
ETHTornado Community Reaction and Legal Risks
Reaction from MegaETH insiders appeared positive. Bread, the project’s head of community and growth, responded to the deployment of ETHTornado by encouraging Gunboats to “add this to the community wiki” in a post on X.
You should add this to the community wiki
— BREAD | ∑: (@0xBreadguy) March 22, 2025
Gunboats, who claims not to be based in the US, also addressed concerns about the legal ramifications of deploying ETHTornado in a post referencing Roman Storm — a Tornado Cash co-founder currently facing charges from the US Department of Justice. “Free Roman Storm,” they wrote, signaling solidarity with developers facing legal scrutiny for open-source contributions.
Also read: Pectra Testnet Launch Under Fire: How an Attacker Exploited an Ethereum Edge Case
Although ETHTornado is currently live on MegaETH’s testnet, it has yet to gain traction due to the absence of a user-friendly interface. Still, its presence on a bleeding-edge blockchain network raises fresh questions about the intersection of privacy, regulation, and innovation in the evolving crypto landscape.
