Ethereum Foundation Dumps Half a Million into Tornado Cash Drama!

by

The Ethereum Foundation (EF), always ready to dive headfirst into a good old-fashioned crypto drama, has pledged to donate up to $500,000 to Tornado Cash’s co-founder, Roman Storm, to support his ongoing legal defense. This comes right after the recent trial verdict where Storm was found guilty of one out of three charges, leaving everyone scratching their heads and muttering about the fairness of it all. 🤔

Ethereum Foundation Supports Tornado Cash’s Co-Founder

On Thursday, the Free Pertsev and Storm fundraiser, ever the optimists, revealed that the Ethereum Foundation will match donations up to $500,000 to bolster the Tornado Cash co-founder’s legal defense following this week’s verdict. In an X post, the fundraiser’s team explained, “We will need these funds and more to continue the fight for Roman at the trial court and on appeal. The outcome of these proceedings will set major precedent for developers worldwide. Like, really major.” 🌍

As reported by Bitcoinist, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) decided to throw a wrench in the works by sanctioning Tornado Cash in August 2022. The reason? They failed to impose effective controls to prevent malicious actors from laundering funds through the protocol, including a whopping $455 million by the North Korea-linked hacking group, Lazarus Group. Talk about a bad day at the office! 💻💥

Storm, who was detained and indicted following the Tornado Cash sanctions, was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. It’s like he’s starring in a real-life episode of “White Collar” but with more blockchain and less fancy suits. 🕶️💰

On August 6, the verdict of the long-awaited trial, which began on July 14 after being delayed twice (because nothing says excitement like a delayed trial), was finally announced. The jury, after much deliberation, couldn’t agree on two of the three charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit sanctions violations. However, they did find the Tornado Cash co-founder guilty of the remaining charge: conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. This could land him in the slammer for up to 5 years, which is a lot of time to think about decentralized finance. 🕰️🔒

After the verdict, Storm told journalist Elenor Terret, “This is a big win. The ‘1960’ charge is complete nonsense, and we’re going to fight it all the way. You know how President Trump said ‘fight, fight, fight’? We’ll do that too, but with more blockchain and less Twitter rants.” 🚀🔥

As the Free Pertsev and Storm team detailed, “Roman risks up to 5 years of jail time if he doesn’t win the appeal, and potentially decades if the government decides to retry Counts 1 & 3. It’s like a choose-your-own-adventure novel, but with less whimsy and more legal jargon.” 📜⚖️

What’s Next For Storm’s Defense?

Unchained host and journalist Laura Shin, never one to miss a crypto scandal, interviewed former prosecutor Sam Enzer to discuss the mixed verdict and what’s next for the Tornado Cash co-founder. Enzer noted that before getting to appeal, “Roman gets to move for a new trial or a judgment of a quibble. Yes, that’s a real thing, and it sounds exactly as ridiculous as it does.”

After that, “there will be a briefing on that. The court, Judge Failla, will rule.” If the Judge rules that the conviction was proper on the conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business count, they could proceed to sentencing. Additionally, the government could retry Storm on the two counts for which the jury was hung. It’s like a legal version of “Groundhog Day,” but with more lawyers and less Bill Murray. 📆👨‍⚖️

So, it is possible that they could be retried, or the judge could say, I think the conviction was inappropriate, and could say that on the counts that the jury hung on, those should have been acquitted. It’s a bit of a legal rollercoaster, isn’t it?

Enzer asserted that if either of these “extreme” outcomes happens, the case could go on appeal after making its way through the district court, adding that “who appeals will depend on what the outcome is. If the government’s upset with the outcome, it’ll be them appealing. If Roman’s upset with the outcome, he’ll be appealing. It’s a bit like a game of legal ping pong, but with higher stakes and fewer paddles.” 🏓🚫

Read More

2025-08-09 01:15