Crypto luminary and Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has pitched in for a legal cause once again. This time, Buterin has donated 100 Ether, amounting to $240,000, to the Free Alexey & Roman Storm legal assistance fund, which aims to provide defense support for Roman Storm, a developer at Tornado Cash. This marks Buterin’s third act of generosity towards the fund, amidst a tense legal battle.
The fund, so far, has successfully amassed over 327 Ether, which translates to nearly $785,000. A total of 148 contributions have been made to the fund according to the Defend Roman Storm fundraising page. The primary goal of this campaign is to back the legal defense of the Tornado Cash developers.
Roman Storm expressed sincere thankfulness to Buterin, stating, “I can’t describe how much it means to me. Thank you for your long-lasting support.”
The legal challenge intensifying the call for funds involves the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that has gone forward with its case against Roman Storm, after District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) denied Storm’s plea to dismiss the criminal charges against him.
Storm and his supporters maintain that his role in developing code should be categorized as expressing one’s opinion and therefore, protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. However, Judge Failla has refuted this interpretation, stating that the practical capacity of a code doesn’t necessarily fall within the purview of protected speech, as defined by the First Amendment.
The trial set to begin Dec. 2, has sparked a surge in support for Storm from the crypto community. Should he be found guilty on all accounts, Storm faces a potential incarceration for up to 45 years. Amidst these serious allegations and potential consequences, Tornado Cash’s popularity has not dwindled. The crypto mixer saw a 50% surge in deposits reaching $2 billion in the first half of this year inspite of being under legal scrutiny and sanctions. This clear increase was only possible because Tornado Cash users opted for pseudonymous wallet addresses, which can be created on demand avoiding any transfer of funds through OFAC-compliant centralized exchanges.