Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has donated 30 ETH, approximately $113,000, to support the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm.

According to Etherscan data, Buterin contributed to the “Free Pertsev and Storm” defense fund on the decentralized fundraising platform Juicebox earlier today, May 30. The fund had raised 591 ETH, equivalent to $2.2 million, at the time of reporting.

Buterin’s donation is not unexpected, given his longstanding advocacy for privacy tools in crypto and his regular use of such platforms.

Legal issues faced by Tornado Cash developers

Over the past year, Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm, developers of the Tornado Cash privacy protocol, have encountered legal challenges due to their involvement with the crypto mixer.

Earlier this month, a Dutch court sentenced Pertsev to 64 months in prison for allegedly laundering around $1.2 billion through the Tornado Cash mixer between July 2019 and August 2022. Pertsev has reportedly appealed this verdict 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.

Buterin’s donation underscores the ongoing support these developers receive from the crypto community. Last month, three blockchain advocacy groups filed amicus curiae briefs to defend Storm against criminal charges in the US, backing his efforts to have the charges dismissed.

Furthermore, US Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden have challenged the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) attempt to broaden the definition of a money-transmitting business to include non-custodial crypto asset software services like Tornado Cash. They argued that such broad definitions could stifle innovation and undermine confidence in the DOJ’s commitment to legal principles.

Additionally, several crypto projects are discussing potential initiatives to support developers. Conversations about donations are ongoing on forums for Optimism, Aave, MakerDAO, YearnFi, Alchemix, and Uniswap.