🌪️Tornado Cash Mixing Guide

Tornado Cash, often called Tornado, launched in 2020. It’s a crypto mixer that runs on blockchains like Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Its main purpose is to help users obscure the source and destination of crypto transactions — improving privacy and making on-chain tracking harder.

In August 2022, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Tornado Cash and froze related addresses due to money-laundering concerns. However, a court ruled in November 2024 that OFAC had exceeded its authority, and the sanctions were lifted on March 21, 2025. As a result, U.S. users can now legally use Tornado Cash.

How Tornado Cash mixes funds

Tornado Cash uses zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs): users deposit funds into a shared pool and later withdraw to a different address. This severs the direct on-chain link between sender and receiver, protecting transaction privacy.

Analogy: imagine a public donation box. People drop cash into the box and receive a secret ticket (like a lottery number). Later, you redeem the ticket and withdraw cash, but the box’s contents are mixed, so outsiders can’t tell which cash came from whom. zk-SNARKs let you prove “this is my money” without revealing identifying information.

In practice, blockchain observers can only see that an address deposited into the Tornado Cash smart contract — they cannot reliably match which deposit corresponds to which withdrawal as long as the pool provides sufficient anonymity.

Mixing flow (summary)

Step 1 — Deposit Deposit a fixed denomination (e.g., 0.1 BNB, 1 BNB) by connecting your wallet and sending the funds to the contract. Your browser will generate a note (a secret withdrawal credential) and prompt you to download or copy it. Keep this note safe — it’s the only proof that lets you withdraw later.

Step 2 — Wait Don’t withdraw immediately. Wait days or weeks so more users join the pool. The larger and more active the pool, the stronger your anonymity.

Step 3 — Withdraw Use a new wallet address (do not reuse your original deposit address), provide the note, and the contract will verify your claim. A relayer will broadcast the withdrawal transaction and often pay the gas on your behalf. The result is that the receiving address has no apparent on-chain link to the deposit address.

How to use the PandaTool mixer (tornado.pandatool.org)

These steps assume you’re using a desktop browser or a mobile wallet browser.

1. Connect to the PandaTool mixer Open https://tornado.pandatool.org/ and click the “Connect Wallet” button in the top-right. After connecting, your wallet address will be shown. Make sure your wallet is set to Binance Smart Chain (BSC) before connecting.

2. Choose deposit amount Currently only BNB deposits are supported, with four fixed amounts: 0.1 BNB, 1 BNB, 10 BNB, and 100 BNB. After choosing, the UI will show the associated fees. Confirm and click “Deposit.”

3. Back up your note (secret credential) After clicking deposit, your browser will prompt you to copy and download the note as a backup. This is critical. If you lose the note, your funds are irretrievable. If someone steals your note, they can withdraw your funds. Store it securely offline or in a safe location.

Once backed up, confirm and send the transaction via your wallet. After the transaction is mined, the UI will show your deposit record (some displays may be cached locally and disappear when you close the page).

4. Withdraw After waiting an appropriate amount of time (days to weeks), go to the withdraw page. Enter your note and the receiving wallet address. The system will fetch the note data and search for available relayers.

Review the withdrawal details and associated fees, then click “Withdraw.” The system may take 1–3 minutes to verify; once confirmed, the relayer will execute the transaction — typically the withdrawal completes within seconds to a minute.

FAQ

1. What if I lose my note or never backed it up? There’s no way to recover it. If the note is lost, your funds are permanently locked in the Tornado Cash contract.

2. What does “no available relayer” mean at withdrawal? Withdrawals rely on relayers to broadcast transactions and often cover gas costs. If no relayer is online or available, you’ll see that message and should try again later.

3. Are there fees? Yes. Deposits incur a fixed fee (e.g., 0.01 BNB per deposit). Withdrawals typically require paying a relayer fee around 0.1% of the withdrawal amount.

4. How can I improve anonymity? The longer funds stay in the pool and the more participants there are, the stronger the anonymity. Performing additional normal transactions (bridging, swapping on DEXs) can also help reduce linkability.

5. Could the pool “run away” with funds? Tornado Cash’s contracts have been live for years and are well known, but no system is risk-free. Always evaluate risks and check audits/official information.

6. Any other risks? Using a mixer creates an on-chain association with the mixer itself. Some centralized exchanges or services might flag or restrict addresses that interacted with mixers. You can try to reduce traces by bridging and performing normal interactions afterward, but the risk remains.

7. Is only BNB supported right now? Yes — currently in public testing, the tool supports BNB on Binance Smart Chain. Expansion to other chains and tokens is planned.

For further questions or community support, join the official Telegram: https://t.me/pandatool_en