Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin donates 100 ETH to strengthen Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s legal defense fund.
In a new thread on social media platform
“I can’t describe how much it means to me. Thank you for your long-term support.”
According to the Free Pertsev & Storm
In 2022, the US government approved the coin tumbler, citing national security concerns. At the time, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said that more than $7 billion in digital assets had been laundered through the protocol since its launch, including funds moved by the North Korean hacking network the Lazarus Group.
The protocol’s developers were subsequently charged, including Storm, who was arrested last year along with Roman Semenov, another Tornado Cash developer, for allegedly helping the Lazarus Group launder illegal funds.
The legal fund, hosted on decentralized fundraising platform Juicebox, has raised over $800,000 in Ethereum at the time of writing. The people behind the fundraiser say Storm’s legal fees have risen to $500,000 a month, and he may need another $2 to $3 million to close the case.
In May, it was revealed that Buterin sent 30 ETH, worth $113,678 at the time, to Storm and Pertsev’s fund. Last month, a judge in the Netherlands sentenced Pertsev to more than five years in prison for helping to set up a platform that allows bad actors to launder the proceeds of criminal activities.
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