Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently donated another 100 ether, worth nearly $240,000, to the legal defense fund of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm — the third time the prominent cryptocurrency maker has donated to the cause.
According to the Defend Roman Storm crowdfunding page, 148 different payments have been received for the developer’s defense fund — totaling over 327 Ether, worth nearly $785,000, at the time of writing.
“I can’t describe how much this means to me,” the Tornado Cash developer told Buterin after the donation. “Thank you for your long-standing support.”
Court orders Roman Storm case to continue
On September 26, 2024, U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla denied Storm's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the case to proceed. Failla stated that the charges against Storm were not without merit and that she "simply cannot accept Mr. Storm's account that he is being prosecuted for simply writing code."
Storm pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintains that Tornado Cash is open source software that anyone can use and is not controlled by the Tornado Cash developers.
If convicted on all three charges, Storm faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison — a prospect that has shaken the crypto community and sparked an outpouring of support for the beleaguered software developers.
In June 2024, JusticeDAO was reportedly formed to crowdfund a defense fund for Tornado Cash developers. The group raised over 654 ETH, worth over $1.5 million at current market prices.
Sanctions Can't Stop Tornado
Despite sanctions from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and legal pressure from US officials, deposits into the Tornado Cash mixer reached nearly $1.9 billion in the first half of 2024. This represents a 50% increase in deposits over the previous year’s total.
The sanctions were only effective if Tornado Cash users planned to route funds through OFAC-compliant centralized exchanges with know-your-customer controls and targeted wallet addresses — which are anonymous and can be generated on demand.
