A wallet connected to Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, recently donated 30 Ether to the legal fund established for Tornado Cash developers, Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm. The contribution, amounting to roughly $113,000, was channeled through Juicebox, a popular crowdfunding platform in the crypto space. Pertsev and Storm are currently involved in a court battle attempting to clear their names, with their legal fund having raised approximately 591 Ether at the time of the announcement.
Veterans in the cryptocurrency scene, including Buterin, have long championed the cause of crypto privacy. Buterin alone has written numerous articles on Ethereum’s privacy enhancement. As such, his support for Pertsev and Storm hardly comes as unexpected. Tornado Cash, a tool designed to allow anonymous crypto transactions, falls directly in line with Buterin’s advocacy. However, the tool has also been exploited by lawbreakers to launder stolen or hacked funds.
The criminal usage of Tornado Cash drew the attention of U.S. law enforcement, and in August 2022, the tool was sanctioned by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The founders of Tornado Cash were subsequently arrested and charged with violations of Anti-Money Laundering legislation. Pertsev received a five-year sentence from a Dutch court on related charges.
These events have painted a grim picture for the future of the crypto industry. As the authorities tighten their grip on privacy-oriented coins and software development, numerous experts have warned about the potential repercussions on the commercial landscape of cryptocurrency.
Despite this, the crypto community continues to rally in support of privacy rights and fairness in prosecution. The community asserts that arresting developers for the code they write is unfair and equates to declaring them terrorists. Large swathes of the crypto community have demanded the release of Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, currently serving two life sentences without parole. This struggle has even caught the attention of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who pledged to pardon Ulbricht if elected.