In a notable development, GoFundMe, a prominent American crowdfunding platform, has halted a fundraising campaign aimed at collecting legal funds for Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev, respectively the co-founder and developer of the controversial cryptocurrency mixer, Tornado Cash.

Storm had initiated the campaign on January 22, urging the digital community to contribute towards their legal expenses for an impending court battle with U.S. authorities. They face allegations that Tornado Cash facilitated evasion of U.S. sanctions. Contributions began to flow in, but on Valentine's Day, GoFundMe abruptly shut down the fundraiser, citing a violation of its terms of service, specifically Term 22. This term suggests that supporting the Tornado Cash court costs campaign could potentially cause harm or expose GoFundMe or its users to liability.

This unexpected shutdown led to donors like Ryan Adams of Bankless Ventures having their contributions rescinded. Despite Elon Musk's known criticism of traditional currency, Adams expressed his viewpoint, stating, "Good thing we have an uncensorable money system so we can still fund civil liberties like the right to a fair trial." Adams pledged to redirect his generous donation of $10,000 back to Storm through an undisclosed method.

Although the GoFundMe appeal, aimed at raising $1.5 million for U.S. legal costs, had a short duration, it managed to raise a total of $30,000 before being terminated. Currently, Storm and Pertsev are relying on JuiceBox, a cryptocurrency funding platform, where they have collected 316.75 Ether, valued at approximately $2,829 at the time of writing.

The unexpected decision by GoFundMe to halt the fundraiser has stirred speculation within the Tornado Cash community, especially as previous similar campaigns did not meet the same fate. Pertsev and Storm face a range of charges, including conspiracy to evade sanctions, money laundering, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. They adamantly assert their innocence on all counts. Storm is currently out on a $2 million bail, subject to travel restrictions.