Paradigm commits $1.25 million to aid Tornado Cash co-founder in continued legal battle
Quick Take Crypto venture capital Paradigm will donate $1.25 million to fund Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s legal defense against U.S. prosecution. Storm said the charges made against him are a “terrifying criminalization of privacy.”
Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang announced that the crypto venture capital firm will donate $1.25 million to support Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm in his legal defense against U.S. prosecution.
“The prosecution’s case threatens to hold software developers criminally liable for the bad acts of third parties, which would have a chilling effect in crypto and beyond,” Huang wrote on social media platform X on Wednesday. “We must stand with [Storm].”
Storm co-founded Ethereum-based crypto mixer Tornado Cash with Roman Semenov, both of whom were charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with alleged money laundering-related charges in 2023.
Prosecutors claimed that Storm "knowingly facilitated” the laundering of over $1 billion in illicit funds on the crypto mixer, including money linked to North Korean cybercrime group Lazarus. The Tornado Cash founders each face up to 45 years in prison.
In Storm’s defense
In an X post on Jan. 23, Storm wrote that the prosecution embodies a “terrifying criminalization of privacy,” as he claims he is being charged for writing open-source code for private transactions in a non-custodial manner.
Earlier this month, a US court ordered the sanctions on Tornado Cash to be reversed — ruling that the crypto mixer should not be seen as “property” that can be sanctioned.
Despite the recent ruling, a New York court denied Storm’s motion to reconsider the legal action against the developer.
“The Court recognized that ‘Mr. Storm argues that the Tornado Cash pool smart contracts were ‘immutable’ after May of 2020,’ but also recognized that ‘the indictment charges … that other aspects of the Tornado Cash service were not similarly free from tinkering,’” the court document said .
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin , along with other members of the crypto community, called for U.S. President Donald Trump to help lift the charges against Storm after Trump signed an executive order to pardon Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht .
Storm’s court trial is set for April 14, 2025.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
New spot margin trading pair — HOLO/USDT!
FUN drops by 32.34% within 24 hours as it faces a steep short-term downturn
- FUN plunged 32.34% in 24 hours to $0.008938, marking a 541.8% monthly loss amid prolonged bearish trends. - Technical breakdowns, elevated selling pressure, and forced liquidations highlight deteriorating market sentiment and risk-off behavior. - Analysts identify key support below $0.0080 as critical, with bearish momentum confirmed by RSI (<30) and MACD indicators. - A trend-following backtest strategy proposes short positions based on technical signals to capitalize on extended downward trajectories.
OPEN has dropped by 189.51% within 24 hours during a significant market pullback
- OPEN's price plummeted 189.51% in 24 hours to $0.8907, marking its largest intraday decline in history. - The token fell 3793.63% over 7 days, matching identical monthly and yearly declines, signaling severe bearish momentum. - Technical analysts cite broken support levels and lack of bullish catalysts as key drivers of the sustained sell-off. - Absence of stabilizing volume or reversal patterns leaves the market vulnerable to further downward pressure.
New spot margin trading pair — LINEA/USDT!
Trending news
MoreCrypto prices
More
