Ethereum Foundation pledges $500K for Tornado Cash developer defense
The Ethereum Foundation will donate $500,000 to fund the legal defense of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm, adding to $750,000 already raised by the crypto community.
On July 14, 2025—two years after the initial charges were filed—Roman Storm will face trial for allegedly conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and violating U.S. sanctions through the Tornado Cash mixer protocol.
Prosecutors argue that Tornado Cash was used by North Korean hackers and other criminals to launder stolen funds, and that its developers failed to ensure the protocol’s responsible use.
However, the case comes amid a shifting regulatory landscape in the U.S., and many in the crypto community—including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin—have voiced support for Storm.
“The right to privacy is not a crime, and writing open-source code is not illegal,” said the Ethereum Foundation.
Support group
Legal groups including Coin Center, the DeFi Education Fund, and the Blockchain Association have also offered their support.
Roman Semenov, another Tornado Cash developer named in the same indictment, remains at large and is believed to be hiding in Russia.
Alexey Pertsev, a third developer connected to Tornado Cash, was arrested in the Netherlands in 2022 and sentenced in May 2024 to over five years in prison for money laundering.
As we wrote, Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm's trial postponed to april amid expert witness dispute
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