Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has seemingly donated 30 ETH (approximately $111,000) to a legal defense fund for Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm through the decentralized fundraising platform Juicebox, according to on-chain data.

A transaction from an address linked to Buterin, vitalik.eth, was recorded at 1:58 am EST to the “Free Alexey & Roman” legal fund on Juicebox.

To date, the fund has collected 591 ETH (about $2.2 million) to support the developers of the Ethereum-based crypto mixer Tornado Cash, who are facing money laundering charges.

This month, Dutch courts sentenced Alexey Pertsev to 64 months in prison for his involvement in processing $1.2 billion through the mixer from July 2019 to August 2022, concluding he enabled money laundering. Pertsev has appealed his conviction, filing with the 's-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal in the Netherlands. Roman Storm, another developer tied to Tornado Cash, remains detained in the U.S. since his 2023 arrest, with his trial set for September.

In 2022, Buterin contributed 10 ETH (worth $30,980 at the time) to AssangeDAO, a legal fund on Juicebox supporting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.