Ethereum co-founder reiterates support for Roman Storm, citing privacy

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, has doubled down connected his enactment of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, who could beryllium retried connected 2 felony charges sometime this year.

In a Friday X post, Buterin warned his followers astir privateness from some the nationalist and governments, adding that helium had utilized Tornado Cash to marque transactions successful furtherance of this principle. The Ethereum co-founder has supported Storm since earlier his transgression trial, saying that processing bundle for others to usage for privateness was not a crime. 

“I person personally utilized Roman's bundle to marque transactions — to bargain bundle for my ain use, without my sanction ending up successful firm databases, to enactment charities that support invaluable quality rights, and different goals,” said Buterin. “Roman has been a principled and steadfast developer of these principles. Unlike immoderate others, who usage these causes arsenic an excuse to marque nett and constitute bundle that has flashy advertizing but is breached nether the hood [...]”

Source: Vitalik Buterin

Storm was indicted successful August 2023 for moving an unlicensed wealth transmitter concern and engaging successful a conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering and a conspiracy to interruption sanctions. He was found blameworthy of the archetypal charge successful August, but a assemblage deadlocked connected the different two.

Related: Roman Storm asks DeFi devs: Can you beryllium definite DOJ won’t complaint you?

As of Friday, it was uncertain whether US prosecutors would retry Storm connected the 2 felony charges oregon erstwhile helium would beryllium sentenced for moving an unlicensed wealth transmitter business. He has repeatedly claimed helium was guiltless and drew enactment from galore successful the crypto industry, who assertion “writing codification is not a crime.“

Presidential involution successful Storm’s case?

In November, pursuing the verdict successful Storm’s transgression trial, a radical of crypto companies and advocacy groups called connected US President Donald Trump to measurement successful and “urge the Department of Justice to disregard each unfastened charges” against the Tornado Cash developer.

Trump had not publically commented connected Storm’s lawsuit arsenic of Friday, nor had helium suggested that helium planned to contented a statesmanlike pardon. Polymarket’s lawsuit declaration connected imaginable Trump pardons earlier 2027 showed respective crypto manufacture figures including erstwhile FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, but not Storm.

Storm’s lawyers and prosecutors are scheduled to instrumentality to tribunal for a league to sermon the lawsuit connected Jan. 22.

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