The Generosity of Vitalik Buterin: A Donation to Support Roman Storm
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has made a significant donation of 50 ETH (approximately $170,000) to support the legal defense of Roman Storm, a developer of Tornado Cash. This gesture highlights Buterin’s commitment to privacy and open-source development within the crypto community.
Expressing Gratitude
Roman Storm expressed his heartfelt appreciation for Buterin’s donation, acknowledging the Ethereum co-founder’s ongoing support during a challenging time. In a tweet, 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.”
So far, Storm’s legal defense fund has raised $640,061, which is 33% of the $2 million target. Storm is set to face trial in the US on April 14 on charges related to money laundering and sanctions violations through Tornado Cash.
The Legal Battle
Following his donation announcement, Storm made a motion in December to dismiss the criminal charges against him. His legal team argued that a recent court ruling questioning the US Treasury’s authority to sanction Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts undermines the case against him.
According to Storm’s lawyers, Tornado Cash’s smart contracts operate autonomously without individual control, making it difficult to attribute their activities to Storm. They emphasized that this lack of oversight negates claims that Storm knowingly violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The defense further argued that the decentralized nature of Tornado Cash’s smart contracts makes it impossible to prove intent and knowledge required to justify money laundering charges or unauthorized money transmission.
The case has sparked significant community reaction, with Greg Lang, the founder of Rivet, stating that creating and publishing open-source privacy tools is protected speech and not criminal activity.
