The Ethereum Foundation has confirmed a significant financial contribution towards the legal expenses of Roman Storm, a developer connected to the blockchain privacy protocol Tornado Cash. This development comes as Storm prepares to face criminal charges in the United States next month.
The organisation announced a direct donation of $500,000 and committed to match a further $750,000 in donations from other contributors, potentially raising a total of $1.25 million for Storm’s legal team.
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Developer Faces Trial Over Tornado Cash
Storm, who helped create Tornado Cash, is due in court on 14 July in New York. He has been charged with operating an unregistered money transfer service, breaching U.S. sanctions laws, and laundering illicit funds. Prosecutors allege that he and his co-developers knowingly facilitated transactions for criminal networks through the decentralised tool.
Tornado Cash operates as a crypto mixer—a system that obscures blockchain transactions by pooling and redistributing funds. This makes tracing individual transfers extremely difficult. While advocates argue this enhances privacy, authorities claim the tool has been exploited to hide proceeds from hacking and theft.
Although Storm contributed to the codebase, he has maintained that Tornado Cash was a decentralised, open-source project that he does not control. His legal representatives previously requested a dismissal, arguing that the U.S. Treasury overreached when it sanctioned the project’s smart contracts. Despite that motion, the trial remains scheduled.
Ethereum Foundation Defends Privacy and Code
The Ethereum Foundation, which supports the broader Ethereum ecosystem, publicly defended its decision to contribute to Storm’s legal fund. It reinforced the position that writing code, in and of itself, should not attract criminal liability and stressed that digital privacy remains a vital right for users and developers alike.
This is not the first time the Foundation has financially backed Tornado Cash developers in legal trouble. In the case of Alexey Pertsev—another Tornado Cash contributor who was arrested in the Netherlands in 2022—the Ethereum Foundation offered similar support. Pertsev was convicted of money laundering earlier this year and received a sentence exceeding five years.
Roman Semenov, also named in the U.S. indictment alongside Storm, has not yet been taken into custody. Reports suggest he remains out of reach, possibly in Russia. His exact whereabouts remain unclear.
Community Support and Industry Response
Storm’s legal predicament has prompted widespread reaction across the crypto sector. Legal documents from major DeFi advocates have been filed in support of Storm, warning of broader consequences if the charges result in a conviction. These include Coin Center, the Blockchain Association, and the DeFi Education Fund, all of which have raised concerns about the chilling effect such a ruling could have on open-source software development.
Prominent figures in the digital assets space have also offered backing. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Paradigm founder Matt Huang are among those who have contributed directly to the legal fund in support of Storm and his fellow developers.
It’s seen as a crossroads moment for open-source crypto work. If Storm is found guilty, it could establish a precedent where software developers are held responsible for how their tools are later used—even in cases where the platform is no longer under their control. The crypto industry argues that such a move could hinder innovation and discourage participation in decentralised technology development.
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Broader Implications for Blockchain Innovation
As the U.S. government continues to refine its approach to regulating digital assets, this trial marks a potential turning point. Authorities are increasingly pursuing enforcement actions against actors in the decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem, signalling a tougher stance on anonymity in crypto transactions.
Storm’s defence, however, insists that building technology that offers privacy does not automatically equate to enabling criminal activity.
Critics of the prosecution’s case highlight that punishing developers for the misuse of code could undermine the very foundations of blockchain innovation. Decentralisation, by its nature, relies on code that runs independently. Holding creators legally accountable for all future actions that might occur through their tools, they argue, is both unrealistic and unfair.
What Comes Next
With the trial date drawing near, Storm has taken to social media to share his views. He says the Department of Justice is attempting to suppress the DeFi movement by targeting him personally. According to Storm, if his case results in a conviction, it could threaten the future of permissionless blockchain applications.
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In the meantime, the Ethereum Foundation’s contribution and commitment to matching further donations sends a clear message: the developer community sees this legal challenge not just as a defence of one individual, but as a fight for the broader principles of code freedom and digital privacy.
