Vitalik Buterin Supports Tornado Cash Developer Amid Legal Battle
- Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin supports Roman Storm, a developer of the sanctioned crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
- Storm was convicted in August for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business but is seeking acquittal.
- Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 for laundering over $1.5 billion in illicit crypto assets.
- The sanctions were lifted in March, and Storm faces up to five years in prison if not acquitted.
- Another developer, Alexey Pertsev, was sentenced to over five years for laundering $1.2 billion through Tornado Cash.
Buterin argues that privacy-preserving tools are essential human rights and should not be criminalized due to potential misuse by others. He emphasizes the importance of privacy against exploitation from various global threats.
With Buterin’s support, Storm’s case highlights the legal challenges faced by open-source developers when their software is used illicitly, underscoring ongoing debates about technology and privacy rights. Source
