As the legal battle over crypto privacy tools heats up on both sides of the Atlantic, the crypto community is pouring millions into defending two developers behind Tornado Cash a controversial protocol accused of facilitating money laundering but also praised for protecting user privacy.
At the heart of the storm are Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev, developers whose fates may set a precedent for whether writing privacy-focused code is a criminal act or constitutionally protected speech. Their high-stakes court battles, unfolding in the U.S. and the Netherlands, respectively, have become flashpoints in the larger debate over open-source innovation, decentralisation, and the role of governments in regulating code.
Roman Storm’s Legal Fund Grows Ahead of U.S. Trial
Roman Storm, the Washington-based co-founder of Tornado Cash, is gearing up for a July 14, 2025, jury trial after being charged with helping to launder over $1 billion, some allegedly linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Released on a $2 million bond, Storm faces intense scrutiny from U.S. prosecutors who argue that his contributions to Tornado Cash enabled criminal activity on a global scale.
But Storm is far from fighting alone. On June 12, the Ethereum Foundation announced a $500,000 donation towards his legal defence, alongside a promise to match up to $750,000 in public contributions. That support builds on an earlier $1.25 million grant from Paradigm, bringing Storm’s war chest to nearly $3 million.
His case has galvanised the crypto community, which sees the trial as a referendum on whether publishing privacy-enhancing code constitutes a crime. “This is about more than one person,” a Storm supporter noted. “It’s about the freedom to write code without fear of prosecution.”
Alexey Pertsev Appeals Dutch Conviction
While Storm braces for court in the U.S., Dutch developer Alexey Pertsev is fighting to overturn a 64-month prison sentence handed down in May for allegedly enabling $1.2 billion in illicit transactions through Tornado Cash.
Detained since 2022 and now under electronic monitoring, Pertsev is mounting an appeal that has drawn international attention. On the legal front, U.S. advocacy groups Coin Centre and the DeFi Education Fund filed an amicus brief urging the Dutch appellate court to reverse the conviction. Their central argument: code is a neutral, immutable tool, not a criminal instrument.
Pertsev’s defence has also received significant financial support. In February, the Ethereum Foundation awarded him a $1.25 million grant, reaffirming its message that “privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime.”
Shifting Regulatory Winds and Legal Grey Zones
The Tornado Cash saga is unfolding amid a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. In March 2025, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) quietly delisted Tornado Cash’s smart-contract addresses. This came after a federal appeals court ruled that self-executing code does not constitute “property” and therefore cannot be sanctioned under existing statutes.
While that ruling provided some relief, easing restrictions on token usage, it left the criminal cases against Storm and Pertsev untouched. The core legal questions now being asked are whether developers can be held liable for how open-source code is used and to what extent privacy tools are protected under free speech rights.
These cases are not just about Tornado Cash. They’re about the future of decentralised finance (DeFi), the responsibilities of coders, and the limits of state control over digital innovation.
A Precedent with Global Consequences
The crypto community sees a high-stakes precedent in the making. If prosecutors succeed, critics warn it could have a chilling effect on open-source development, particularly for privacy-enhancing technologies. Developers may be deterred from publishing tools that, while neutral in design, could be misused by malicious actors.
Conversely, a legal victory for Storm or Pertsev could reinforce the principle that publishing code, even controversial code, is protected speech under democratic legal systems.
With trial dates nearing and millions now backing their defences, the outcomes of these landmark cases are poised to shape global attitudes towards crypto privacy, developer liability, and the fundamental question of whether writing code can ever be a crime.
As the courtrooms prepare, the crypto world watches its future hanging in the balance.
