The crypto community has rallied behind Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev as they face legal challenges related to the deployment of the open-source code behind the mixer. The Ethereum Foundation recently made a significant contribution to support Storm’s legal defense, donating $500,000 towards his case. This donation will be matched by public contributors, bringing the total backing for Storm to approximately $3 million.
Storm, who is currently on $2 million bail in Washington state, was arrested in August 2023 and charged with conspiring to launder over $1 billion in crypto, including funds linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Despite these legal troubles, Storm remains committed to defending the right to privacy and the freedom to code.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, advocacy groups such as Coin Center and the DeFi Education Fund have filed an amicus brief in support of Alexey Pertsev’s appeal of his money laundering conviction. The brief argues that holding developers liable for the use of immutable smart contract code would stifle innovation in the open-source community. Pertsev, who was arrested in Amsterdam in 2022 and sentenced to 64 months for facilitating money laundering, is currently awaiting the outcome of his appeal in s-Hertogenbosch.
In a positive development, OFAC recently delisted Tornado Cash smart contract addresses, easing token restrictions and acknowledging that the immutable code cannot be sanctioned as property. This decision has provided some relief for the developers, but the legal battles against them are far from over.
The ongoing support from the crypto community, combined with the advocacy efforts of organizations like the Ethereum Foundation, demonstrates a strong commitment to protecting privacy rights and fostering innovation in the decentralized finance space. As the trials for Storm and Pertsev continue, their cases serve as a reminder of the importance of upholding the principles of freedom and privacy in the digital age.