Vitalik Buterin has donated more than $100,000 to the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated 30 ETH, equivalent to about $113,000, to support the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm.
Etherscan data shows Buterin donated to the “Free Pertsev and Storm” defense fund on decentralized fundraising platform Juicebox early today, May 30th. The fund has raised 591 ETH, worth $2.2 million, as of press time.
Buterin’s donation is not surprising, considering he has been a prominent advocate for cryptocurrency privacy tools and a consistent user of such platforms.
Legal issues for Tornado Cache developers
Over the past year, Tornado Cash privacy protocol developers Pertsev and Storm have faced legal trouble due to their ties to cryptocurrency mixers.
Earlier this month, a Dutch court sentenced Pertsev to 64 months in prison for laundering approximately $1.2 billion through the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency mixer between July 2019 and August 2022. However, the developer has reportedly appealed the ruling at the s-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal. In the Netherlands.
Likewise, Storm has been detained in the United States since 2023, and his trial is scheduled for September.
Meanwhile, Buterin’s donation reflects the growing support developers continue to enjoy within the cryptocurrency community. Last month, three blockchain advocacy groups filed an amicus curiae brief to defend Storm against criminal charges in the U.S., supporting efforts to have the charges dismissed.
Moreover, U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden have criticized the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s attempt to expand the definition of money transfer business to include non-custodial crypto asset software services such as Tornado Cash. An objection was also raised. They argued that such a broad definition would stifle innovation and shake confidence in the DOJ’s respect for the rule of law.
Additionally, several cryptocurrency projects are considering proposals to support developers. Discussions about potential donations are ongoing on the Optimism, Aave, MakerDAO, YearnFi, Alchemix, and Uniswap forums.
