Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has once again stepped in to support Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, donating 100 Ether (around $240,000) to help with his legal defense. This is the third time Buterin has contributed to the cause. So far, the crowdsourcing effort for Roman Storm’s defense has gathered support from 148 contributors, raising over 327 ETH, which is about $785,000. The Tornado Cash developer said Buterin following the contribution:
On Sept. 26, 2024, U.S. Judge Katherine Failla rejected Storm’s request to dismiss the case, allowing the legal proceedings to continue. Failla pointed out that the accusations against Storm had enough merit to move forward and stated that she couldn’t just take Storm’s claim at face value that he was being prosecuted simply for writing code.
OFAC sanctions fail to halt Tornado Cash’s growth
Storm has pleaded not guilty, arguing that Tornado Cash is simply open-source software available for anyone to use without control from its developers. If found guilty on all charges, Storm could face up to 45 years in prison, a possibility that has sent shockwaves through the crypto community, sparking widespread support for the developers.
In June. 2024, a group called JusticeDAO came together to raise funds in support of the Tornado Cash developers. They managed to gather more than 654 ETH, worth over $1.5 million at the time. Despite sanctions from the US government’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and ongoing legal challenges, the Tornado Cash mixer saw deposits soar to around $1.9 billion in just the first half of 2024, marking a 50% jump compared to all of last year.
The sanctions were only effective if Tornado Cash users intended to move their funds through centralized exchanges that follow OFAC rules and have know-your-customer checks. These sanctions also focused on specific wallet addresses that users can easily create and keep pseudonymous.
