Vitalik Buterin Donates 30 ETH to Support Tornado Cash Legal Defense

Vitalik Buterin has reaffirmed his support for Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm, who are facing money laundering charges.

On May 8, the Ethereum co-founder donated 30 ETH, valued at around $113,000, to the Juicebox campaign ‘Free Alexey & Roman.’

Buterin has consistently supported Pertsev and Storm, expressing his disappointment over the verdict in their case. Speaking at DappCon in Berlin, he described Pertsev’s 64-month prison sentence as “really unfortunate.”

According to Buterin, developing software for privacy should be “a totally legal and legit way to fight for privacy.”

However, the Dutch court ruled Pertsev guilty of money laundering through the software he developed, a decision with significant implications for Storm, who faces similar charges in the United States.

Tornado Cash and other crypto mixers, designed to obscure transaction trails, have faced substantial regulatory scrutiny due to their potential misuse by criminal entities.

Despite these challenges, Buterin remains optimistic, hoping for “positive clarity” in Storm’s upcoming trial in the U.S. He continues to advocate for privacy, emphasizing its importance for “common people” and not just nefarious actors.

In addition to Buterin’s support, the Tornado Cash legal defense has garnered attention from notable privacy advocate Edward Snowden. The former NSA whistleblower has publicly backed the fundraiser for Tornado Cash’s legal defense, urging others to assist.

Snowden described the case against Tornado Cash as “deeply illiberal and profoundly authoritarian,” echoing Buterin’s sentiment that “privacy is not a crime.”

Following Buterin’s donation, the campaign received numerous smaller contributions in ETH, with accompanying messages such as “justice finally comes.”

At the time of publication, the Free Alexey & Roman campaign has raised a total of 559.81 ETH, approximately $2 million.