Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has donated $113,000 worth of cryptocurrency to a legal defense fund supporting the developers of Tornado Cash. Tornado Cash is a privacy tool that allows users to send cryptocurrency anonymously.
Buterin’s donation is part of a larger effort to raise funds for Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm, who were arrested by Dutch authorities last year and charged with violating Anti-Money Laundering rules. A Dutch court recently sentenced Pertsev to five years in prison.
Law enforcement agencies around the world have been cracking down on cryptocurrency privacy tools, arguing that they are used by criminals to launder money. However, the crypto community believes that developers of these tools should not be held responsible for how they are used.
Buterin is a long-time advocate for cryptocurrency privacy and has written extensively on the subject. The crypto community is also actively campaigning for the release of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road marketplace, who is currently serving a life sentence for non-violent crimes.
