Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, donated 30 Ether (worth $113,000) to Juicebox, a crypto crowdfunding platform. This money is meant to help with the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers, Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm.
Privacy Tools Under Scrutiny
Buterin and other crypto experts have always supported privacy tools that help users manage their assets anonymously. Tornado Cash is one such tool, allowing users to send crypto transactions without revealing their identities. However, this tool has also been used by criminals to hide stolen funds.
Using Tornado Cash drew the attention of law enforcement, leading the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to ban it in August 2022. The founders of Tornado Cash were arrested and charged with violating anti-money laundering laws. Alexey Pertsev was sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering.
Arresting software developers like Pertsev has caused concern in the crypto community. Experts equally warn that targeting developers could negatively impact the entire industry.
Fight for Privacy and Freedom
The crackdown on privacy tools has also affected other privacy-focused coins, like Monero, which has been removed from major exchanges. The crypto community argues that arresting developers for writing code is unjust.
The community has a history of advocating for human rights, including pushing for the release of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road marketplace, who is serving two life sentences without parole for non-violent crimes. Their efforts have even caught the attention of former President Donald Trump, who has promised to pardon Ulbricht if re-elected.
