Ethereum Foundation Commits $500,000 to Legal Defense of Tornado Cash Founder

Jakarta, Pintu News – Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm has received major support from the Ethereum Foundation, which has pledged to double the donation to $500,000 for his defense costs. The move shows the Foundation’s support for privacy and open-source innovation.

Check out the full information in this article!

Big Funding for Legal Defense

The Ethereum Foundation has announced it will double community donations to $500,000 to support the legal fees of Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash. Tornado Cash is a cryptocurrency mixing protocol that allows users to disguise their transactions.

This decision demonstrates the Foundation’s support for privacy and open-source innovation. Storm’s legal team, via the X account, announced that the Ethereum Foundation has pledged to double the donation to $500,000 to support Roman’s legal fees.

Storm faces up to five years in prison if his appeal fails, and potentially decades if the government decides to retry two other more serious charges.

Read also: Buterin urges accelerated L2 withdrawal, what does this mean for Ethereum?

Allegations Against Tornado Cash Development

Tornado Cash, which is based on Ethereum (ETH), has attracted the attention of US officials who claim that the protocol is used for money laundering, among other illegal transactions, by entities such as the Lazarus Group in North Korea.

Storm’s defense team stated that, because the protocol is open source, it functions independently, and taking developers to court over its use sets a very risky precedent for the tech and cryptocurrency community.

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, insists that writing code is not a crime. This was reaffirmed by the Ethereum Foundation which supported the statement. The case became a tipping point in the cryptocurrency world and raised questions about developer responsibility, the right to privacy, and the uncertain future of decentralized finance (DeFi).

Read also: Pi Network Core Team Invites Users to Fight Misinformation, What’s the Strategy?

Fundraising to Support Roman’s Trial

This funding follows previous contributions from the Foundation, including an immediate donation of $500,000 and a matching pledge of $750,000 in June 2025. The latest $500,000 match is intended to help Storm’s team raise $1.5 million for its appeal, given the ever-increasing legal costs.

The community-led effort, led by Free Pertsev & Storm, is asking for global donations to strengthen the defense fund through the Foundation’s matching program. The Storm case was a turning point in the crypto world and highlighted questions about developer liability, the right to privacy, and the uncertain future of DeFi.

Its popularity has the potential to change the way regulators approach decentralized technology regulation, following the lifting of sanctions against Tornado Cash by the US Treasury Department in March 2025.

Conclusion

This case is not only important for Roman Storm or Tornado Cash, but also for the entire crypto community. It has the potential to set the foundation for innovation and freedom in the blockchain world. The entire crypto community is invited to join the fight, as this case has the potential to establish the principles of innovation and freedom in the blockchain world.

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Reference

• Crypto Times. Ethereum Foundation Donates $500k for Tornado Cash Co-Founder. Accessed on August 11, 2025
• Featured Image: U Today