Ethereum Foundation Boosts Tornado Cash Legal Defense Amid Landmark Court Battles

The legal fights of Tornado Cash developers have become a flashpoint for the crypto industry’s battle over privacy, open-source code, and regulatory reach. With substantial new donations from the Ethereum Foundation and a groundswell of advocacy, support for Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev’s legal battles shows no sign of slowing.

Ethereum Foundation Pledges $500,000 Toward Roman Storm’s Defense

Roman Storm, the co-creator of Tornado Cash, received a $500,000 boost to his legal fund after the Ethereum Foundation announced its donation on June 12. This latest pledge arrived as Storm faces a pending money laundering trial in the United States, where he is accused of helping launder over $1 billion in cryptocurrencies — including funds linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Further strengthening his defense, the Ethereum Foundation has committed to match up to $750,000 in additional public contributions. Storm, currently out on $2 million bail in Washington state, described the support as essential to defending privacy rights and software freedom. These contributions build on a $1.25 million grant from Paradigm earlier in the year, propelling his total community backing to nearly $3 million.

Global Advocacy Grows: Alexey Pertsev’s Appeal Gains Momentum

Across the Atlantic, support for open-source development intensified after Coin Center and the DeFi Education Fund filed an amicus brief on behalf of Alexey Pertsev in the Netherlands. The brief, part of his appeal against a money laundering conviction, contends that smart contracts are impartial tools and that targeting developers for their creation could have chilling effects on innovation. Pertsev’s cause has already attracted a $1.25 million grant from the Ethereum Foundation, reinforcing the widely echoed position that “privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime.” Pertsev, arrested in August 2022 following Tornado Cash’s US Treasury sanctions, was sentenced this May to over five years in prison for facilitating more than $1.2 billion in illicit transfers. However, he now awaits the outcome of his appeal while under electronic monitoring, following his release in February 2025.

Key Stats & Figures

• Ethereum Foundation Donation: $500,000 to Roman Storm’s legal defense, with another $750,000 matching pool for public donors
• Total Legal Fund for Storm: Approximately $3 million (including $1.25 million from Paradigm)
• Alleged Laundered Amounts: Over $1 billion linked to Tornado Cash in the US case; $1.2 billion cited in the Netherlands’ conviction of Pertsev
• Pertsev’s Sentence: 64 months in prison, currently under electronic monitoring after conditional release pending appeal

OFAC Delists Addresses, Parallel Proceedings Continue

Significant regulatory developments have unfolded in tandem with these cases. In March, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) removed Tornado Cash smart contract addresses from its list, following a US court’s finding that immutable code is not sanctionable as property. While this alleviated certain token restrictions, it did not resolve the criminal prosecutions of Storm and Pertsev, both of whom must still contend with individual charges. The outcome of these trials may set pivotal standards for how developers and protocols are treated under global financial regulations.

Conclusion: What This Means for the Market

The escalating legal battles for Tornado Cash’s developers underscore the tension between innovation and oversight in the crypto sector. As Storm and Pertsev’s cases develop, major contributions from industry organizations and advocacy groups highlight the crypto community’s resolve to defend coding, privacy, and financial sovereignty. The eventual verdicts could dramatically impact the way open-source protocols and their builders are regarded by both regulators and the public.