Vitalik Buterin Defends Tornado Cash Developer as Legal Push Targets Privacy Tools
Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin published an open letter defending Tornado Cash co‑founder Roman Storm and arguing that criminalizing developers of privacy tools threatens digital rights and software development. Storm was convicted in August of conspiracy to conduct unlawful money transfers and faces up to five years in prison at a pending sentencing hearing. Buterin said privacy tools are essential infrastructure against systemic data extraction, noted he has used Tornado Cash, and confirmed a 50 ETH donation to Storm’s legal fund. The case sits alongside wider enforcement actions against privacy-focused projects: Alexey Pertsev (Tornado Cash co‑founder) received a 64‑month sentence from a Dutch court; Samourai Wallet founders faced U.S. prosecutions with multi‑year sentences. Significant fundraising has supported Storm’s defense — more than $6.39 million raised in 2025, with large donations from the Ethereum Foundation, Federico Carrone, and the Solana Policy Institute. Over 110 crypto firms and industry groups have petitioned U.S. lawmakers seeking explicit legal protections for software developers; the DOJ has signaled that “writing code” is not itself a crime. For traders, the case highlights growing regulatory risk for privacy tooling and protocols that integrate mixers or privacy layers: potential legal outcomes could affect developer behavior, integration decisions, project funding, and on‑chain privacy services, which in turn may influence market sentiment for related tokens. Keywords: Tornado Cash, privacy tools, Vitalik Buterin, developer liability, Ethereum.
Neutral
The news centers on legal and regulatory pressure against Tornado Cash and its developers rather than direct changes to protocol economics or network fundamentals. Market impact on ETH (the primary cryptocurrency mentioned) is likely neutral overall: negative sentiment could arise from increased regulatory scrutiny of privacy tools, which might reduce developer activity and integration of privacy features, but large public support (notably from Vitalik and major community donations) reduces tail‑risk by funding defense and catalyzing policy advocacy. Short‑term volatility is possible around sentencing dates, court rulings, or legislative responses as traders react to perceived regulatory risk. Long‑term effects depend on whether prosecutions set legal precedents that materially constrain privacy tooling and integrations — a restrictive precedent could weigh on projects building privacy layers and dampen demand for related tokens, while legal protections or favorable rulings would alleviate risk. For ETH specifically, the story does not directly change supply mechanics or adoption drivers, so price direction remains ambiguous; traders should watch court developments, regulatory statements, and institutional reactions for triggers of short‑term moves.