The arrest of blockchain developer Alexey Pertsev, who was detained on August 10 on suspicion of involvement in the Tornado Cash protocol that was approved earlier this month by U.S. regulators, drew more than 50 people to Amsterdam’s Dam Square on Saturday.
The 29-year-old was detained only two days after the US Treasury blocked Tornado, a virtual currency mixer that it claimed to be used by North Korean hackers. An examining judge decided to hold him in detention for two weeks following a hearing on August 12 behind closed doors.
The arrest was made on suspicion of involvement in hiding unlawful financial flows and enabling money laundering using the service, which can obscure the source and destination of payments that move through it, according to a news release from the Dutch financial crime regulator FIOD.
The system has legitimate uses in addition to its potential for hiding illicit gains. The specific rules that Pertsev is accused of breaking have not been disclosed by Dutch authorities. Various comments and press releases have provided various justifications. The protesters were unwilling to remark on legal matters because Pertsev had not yet been accused of any misconduct.
However, many are concerned about what Pertsev’s arrest means for the future of Web3 and are aware of a chilling impact on the blockchain environment in the Netherlands.
“It’s a case where the fundamental principle of crypto is being questioned,” said Roman Buzko, Co-founder of Buzko Krasnov law firm. He added that he believes that “code is an expression of free speech.”
While code is protected under the First Amendment to the US’ constitution, this is not the case in Europe.
“Open source [code] is not a crime”, chanted the demonstrators, who included Pertsev’s wife Xenia Malik. They brandished posters calling for his release.
Although it is unclear if they believe Pertsev to have been involved, FIOD also claimed that persons in charge of decentralised autonomous organisations (DAO), the amorphous groups that oversee many Web3 projects, “had made large-scale gains” from illegal flows.
Eléonore Blanc, a protester, claimed that the arrest “goes against everything I’ve been working on for the last couple of years.”
“This is generating a chilling effect that is bad for communities and bad for innovation,” said Blanc, who is the founder behind Web3 events and consulting company Cryptocanal. “Let’s maintain competition, let’s establish clear laws… Uncertainty is produced by this.”
Others contend that the focus of the authorities should be on bringing individuals accountable for mishaps like the most recent collapse of terraUSD.
Protestor and Web3 developer Naomi Schettini remarked that Alex is only a developer, and that the real criminals should be pursued. The use of Pertsev’s code for illegal conduct by criminals is “not his responsibility.”
Laws must be revised to reflect the open-source era, according to Rodrigo Zapata, a project manager in a blockchain-based company. “Public authorities are going beyond what the legislature, not the executive branch, should be doing.”
Both FIOD and the Dutch public prosecutor have declined to comment when approached.
See also: Dutch Authorities Detain Man Under Suspicion of Co-developing Tornado Cash
