A Fight for Decentralization: Roman Storm’s Battle in Court
Many public figures often find themselves involved in legal disputes. This can happen due to direct accusations of fraud and potential mistakes or shortcomings in their projects and inventions. Sometimes, the issue isn’t negligence or carelessness but that the project deals with something fundamentally new and unexplored, created only recently. In such cases, condemning the inventor or the public figure representing the project becomes extremely difficult. Moreover, many people strive to support such individuals, mainly if their work protects public interests—for instance, safeguarding user data while resisting pressure from specific governments.
Today, Coinmooner wants to highlight a high-profile event that sparked widespread discussion online. It became a topic for debate and an example of genuine support within the decentralized community. Many representatives of the Web3 industry highly praised this act of goodwill.
Recently, it was revealed that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterindonated 50 ETH (approximately $170,000) to help fund the legal defense of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm.
Privacy and Rights on Trial: Tornado Cash as a Challenge to the System
Roman Storm expressed immense gratitude to Vitalik Buterin for his generous contribution to his legal defense fund. He also added that Vitalik’s unwavering support and leadership continue to inspire everyone and thanked him for standing by his side during this challenging time.
Storm also shared the current status of his legal defense fund. So far, $640,061 has been raised, only 33% of the required $2 million.
Roman Storm is set to appear in court in the U.S. on April 14. He is accused of money laundering and violating sanctions through the cryptocurrency mixing platform Tornado Cash. However, the developer’s defense team disputes these charges.
It’s worth noting that in December, Storm’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the criminal charges, questioning the legality of the U.S. Treasury Department’s actions. Specifically, the lawyers argue that sanctions against Tornado Cash smart contracts exceed the agency’s authority. They claim these smart contracts operate autonomously without individual control, making intentional lawbreaking on Storm’s part impossible.
According to the defense, the creation and publication of open-source privacy tools are fundamental rights protected by freedom of speech. These actions cannot be considered facilitation of criminal activities, even if the software is misused for such purposes. Greg Lang, founder of Rivet, supported this stance, stating that Storm’s actions are not linked to criminal conspiracy.
Coinmooner reminds its readers that in the Web3 industry, using advanced security measures is essential to minimize risks to your finances and personal data. In the world of decentralization, security should always be a top priority.
