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- Ethereum Foundation has contributed $500,000 to support Roman Storm’s legal defense in the Tornado Cash case.
- Foundation vows to match community donations up to $750K, defending privacy and code rights.
- Support for Storm grows as his trial nears, highlighting rising tensions over crypto privacy and regulation.
The Ethereum Foundation has donated $500,000 to aid Roman Storm, the co-founder of the privacy mixer known as Tornado Cash, which has been the subject of controversy. Storm is charged on a severe level, such as running an illegal business, which involves money transmitting, money laundering, and sanctions imposed by the U.S sanctions being violated. His hearing will take place on July 14 in New York, and upon conviction, he would be in prison up to 45 years.
The Ethereum Foundation went as far as to state in the official announcement that privacy is a basic right and that developing code must not be seen as a criminal activity. The foundation has agreed to match donations received by the community, up to an additional $750,000, on top of the initial $500,000. The donation demonstrates the foundation’s continued commitment to protecting privacy rights and supporting the blockchain community.
In one of his posts on X, Roman Storm thanked the Ethereum Foundation. He called this donation a strong act of unity, particularly when the trial date is close. This contribution has been perceived by many in the blockchain community as important to strengthen the legal defense of Storm against the serious charges.
https://twitter.com/rstormsf/status/1933569244933005672
Ongoing Legal Support
However, this is the second such donation after the Ethereum Foundation made a previous pledge of $1 million in February to support Alexey Pertsev, another of the Tornado Cash co-founders. In May 2024, Pertsev was found guilty of similar offenses and given a 64-month sentence in prison. He has been released recently and remains under house arrest with electronic monitoring.
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has also taken part in the legal aid campaign. As have other well-known blockchain industry leaders such as Paradigm CEO Matt Huang. They have contributed to the campaign to free Pertsev and Storm through their donations. And made it clear that they supported the two co-founders in their legal fights.
According to prosecutors, Storm and his co-founders have deliberately permitted the usage of Tornado Cash by sanctioned parties. Which consisted of the Lazarus Group of North Korea. However, they have asserted that the platform enabled illegal deals, making the co-founders guilty of breaching the U.S sanctions. Their legal team is yet to succeed in having the charges dismissed, despite their efforts.
Ethereum Foundation’s Role in Privacy
Roman Semenov, the third co-founder, stays on the loose. He is also mentioned in the Department of Justice indictment and is still at large since the first crackdown. His whereabouts have not been established as yet, giving law enforcement a continued chase.
However, the financial support given by the Ethereum Foundation underlines the clash between privacy activists and the government. Regarding the legal process, the decision made in the case is likely to leave a massive impact on the regulatory environment of privacy-centered technologies in the blockchain sector.
