Imagine being in a tough spot, facing serious allegations, and then receiving a generous donation from someone you admire. That’s exactly what happened to Roman Storm, a developer of the crypto mixing platform Tornado Cash. Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, donated 50 ETH (around $170,000) to support Storm’s legal defense.
This isn’t the first time Buterin has shown his support for privacy and open-source development in the crypto space. His donation is a significant gesture, and Storm was quick to express his heartfelt gratitude. In a message, Storm wrote: “Immense gratitude to Vitalik Buterin for his generous donation to my legal defense fund.
Your unwavering support and leadership by example continue to inspire us all. Thank you for standing with me during this challenging time.”
Storm’s legal defense fund has made some progress, raising $640,061 so far, which is about 33% of the $2 million target. He’s scheduled to face trial in the US on April 14, facing allegations of money laundering and sanctions violations through Tornado Cash.
Storm’s legal team has been working hard to build a strong defense. In December, they filed a motion to dismiss the criminal charges against him. They argued that a recent court ruling, which questioned the US Treasury’s authority to sanction Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts, undermines the case against Storm.
According to Storm’s lawyers, Tornado Cash’s smart contracts operate autonomously, without individual control. This lack of oversight means that Storm couldn’t have knowingly violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). They also argued that the government’s case misrepresents Tornado Cash’s decentralized nature.
The autonomous smart contracts process transactions independently, making it impossible to attribute their activities to Storm. The case has sparked a lot of reaction in the community. Greg Lang, the founder of Rivet, pointed out that creating and publishing open-source privacy tools is protected speech, not an act that furthers any criminal conspiracy that uses the software.
It’s clear that Storm’s case has far-reaching implications for the crypto space, and it’s heartening to see people like Buterin stepping up to support him.
Reported by Cryptoslate.com
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