Vitalik Buterin has shown continued support for Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm, who are facing allegations of money laundering. Buterin recently contributed 30 ETH, valued at around $113,000, to the Juicebox campaign ‘Free Alexey & Roman’ on May 8.
Expressing disappointment over the verdict in their case, Vitalik Buterin has been vocal in his support for Pertsev and Storm. At DappCon in Berlin, he referred to Pertsev’s 64-month prison sentence as “really unfortunate.” He believes that developing software for privacy should be a lawful means of advocating for privacy.
However, the Dutch court’s decision found Pertsev guilty of money laundering through the software he created, setting a precedent that could impact Storm, who faces similar charges in the United States. Regulatory scrutiny has targeted crypto mixers like Tornado Cash because of concerns about their potential misuse by criminal entities, as they are designed to obscure transaction trails.
Despite these challenges, Vitalik Buterin remains hopeful for a positive outcome in Storm’s upcoming trial in the U.S., emphasizing the importance of privacy for everyone, not just those with nefarious intentions. Buterin has consistently supported privacy-centric cryptocurrency tools and advocated for the development of “next-gen” solutions like Railgun and 0xbow.
In addition to Vitalik Buterin’s donation, prominent privacy advocate Edward Snowden has also shown support for the Tornado Cash legal defense fundraiser, denouncing the case as “deeply illiberal and profoundly authoritarian.” Snowden echoes Buterin’s belief that privacy is not a crime.
Following Vitalik Buterin’s contribution, the campaign received smaller donations in ETH, accompanied by messages expressing relief that justice may prevail. As of now, the ‘Free Alexey & Roman’ campaign has raised 559.81 ETH, equivalent to approximately $2 million.
