Ethereum Foundation pledges $1.25M to Tornado Cash developer's appeal

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has donated $1.25 million to support Tornado Cash (CRYPTO:TORN) developer Alexey Pertsev's legal defense as he prepares to appeal his money laundering conviction in the Netherlands.

Pertsev, a Russian national residing in the Netherlands, was found guilty in May 2024 and sentenced to five years and four months in prison.

He was convicted of money laundering for his role in developing Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer that prosecutors allege facilitated the laundering of over $1 billion in illicit funds.

"Privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime," the EF announced the donation on X.

Pertsev reposted the announcement, expressing his gratitude.

His attorney, Judith De Boer, told that the support highlights the importance of the legal ramifications of the case, not just for Pertsev but for the rights of open-source contributors and ensuring that privacy-preserving technologies are not unfairly criminalised.

Pertsev was released from prison custody in early February as part of his pretrial release but remains under electronic monitoring.

He has been serving detention in the Netherlands since August 2022.

Pertsev's legal team has argued that he should not be held responsible for third parties' illicit use of Tornado Cash.

This donation is not the first instance of financial support Pertsev has received from the Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) community.

In December 2024, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated 50 ETH (roughly $170,000 at the time) to support legal aid for Pertsev and Roman Storm, another Tornado Cash developer facing trial in the US.

Crypto investment firm Paradigm also donated $1.25 million to help fund Storm’s legal defense.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court found that immutable smart contracts cannot be classified as "property" as the sanctions implied.

At the time of reporting, the Ethereum (ETH) price was $2,345.53, and the Tornado Cash (TORN) price was $6.12.