Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, has doubled his support for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, who could be retried later this year on two felony charges.
In Friday’s post, X Buterin warned his supporters about privacy from both the public and governments, adding that he used Tornado Cash to make transactions in furtherance of this principle. Ethereum co-founder yes maintained Before his criminal trial, Storm argued that creating software that others could apply to ensure privacy was not a crime.
“I have personally used Romana’s software to make transactions — purchasing software for my own use to keep my name out of corporate databases, supporting charities that protect valuable human rights, and other causes,” Buterin said. “Roman was a principled and steadfast creator of these principles. Unlike some others who use these causes as an excuse to make money and write software with flashy advertisements but disguised as broken […]”
In August 2023, Storm was charged with conducting an unlawful money transfer business and engaging in conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions. He was found guilty of the first charge in August, but the jury deadlocked on the remaining two charges.
Related: Roman Storm asks DeFi creators: Can you be sure that the Department of Justice will not charge you any fees?
As of Friday, it was unclear whether U.S. prosecutors would retry Storm on two felony charges or if he would be convicted of running an illegal money transfer business. He has repeatedly claimed innocence and has gained support from many in the cryptocurrency industry who say that “writing code is not a crime.”
Presidential intervention in the Storm case?
In November, following the verdict in Storm’s criminal trial, a group of crypto companies and interest groups called on US President Donald Trump to step in and “call on the Department of Justice to dismiss all open charges” against developer Tornado Cash.
As of Friday, Trump had not publicly commented on Storm’s case or suggested he planned to issue a presidential pardon. Polymarket event deal for potential Trump pardons before 2027 showed several cryptocurrency industry figures, including former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, but not Storm.
Storm’s lawyers and prosecutors are scheduled to return to court for a conference to discuss the case on Jan. 22.
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