Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated 30 ETH, approximately $113,000, to support the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm.Etherscan data shows that Buterin donated to the “Free Pertsev and Storm” defense fund on the decentralized fundraising platform Juicebox early today, May 30. The fund had raised 591 ETH worth $2.2 million as of press time.Buterin’s donation is unsurprising, considering he has been a prominent advocate for crypto privacy tools and a consistent user of such platforms.Over the past year, Pertsev and Storm, the Tornado Cash privacy protocol developers, have faced legal troubles for their association with the crypto mixer.Earlier this month, a Dutch court sentenced Pertsev to 64 months in prison for laundering approximately $1.2 billion through the Tornado Cash crypto mixer between July 2019 and August 2022. However, the developer has reportedly appealed against the judgment at the s-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal in the Netherlands.Similarly, Storm has been detained in the US since 2023, and his trial is scheduled for September.Meanwhile, Buterin’s donation reflects the growing support the developers continue to enjoy within the crypto community. Last month, three blockchain advocacy groups filed amicus curiae briefs to defend Storm against criminal charges in the US, supporting his efforts to dismiss the charges.Moreover, US lawmakers Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden have also challenged the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) attempt to expand the definition of a money-transmitting business to include non-custodial crypto asset software services like Tornado Cash. They argued that such broad definitions would stifle innovation and shake confidence in the DOJ’s respect for the rule of law.Additionally, several crypto projects are considering proposals to support developers. Discussions about potential donations are ongoing on Optimism, Aave, MakerDAO, YearnFi, Alchemix, and Uniswap forums.Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin’s potential. He imparts insights on a range of topics like DeFi, hacks, mining and culture, underlining transformative power.Also known as “Akiba,” Liam is a reporter, editor and podcast producer at CryptoSlate. He believes that decentralized technology has the potential to make widespread positive change. Catch the latest in crypto by following us on X. Stay informed on the go.The S-1 filing follows the SEC’s approval of NYSE Arca’s proposed rule change on behalf of ProShares.All spot ETH ETFs have yet to launch despite recent developments.ICBC compared Bitcoin to gold and said Ethereum has established itself as “digital oil” capable of powering myriad applications across the web3 ecosystem.DeFillama data shows the platform’s TVL rose 135% despite the attack.CryptoSlate’s latest market report dives deep into the effects corporate Bitcoin purchases have on the market.Disclaimer: Our writers’ opinions are solely their own and do not reflect the opinion of CryptoSlate. None of the information you read on CryptoSlate should be taken as investment advice, nor does CryptoSlate endorse any project that may be mentioned or linked to in this article. Buying and trading cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk activity. Please do your own due diligence before taking any action related to content within this article. Finally, CryptoSlate takes no responsibility should you lose money trading cryptocurrencies.
