On January 1st, COINOTAG News reported that Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, made a significant contribution of 50 ETH to support Roman Storm’s legal defense fund via Juice Box. This initiative underscores the ongoing legal battles faced by key figures in the cryptocurrency space. Storm, the co-founder of Tornado Cash, was arrested in August 2022 by federal authorities, including the FBI and IRS, facing serious allegations such as money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting service.
In addition to this contribution to Storm, Vitalik also directed 50 ETH to Alexey Pertsev, another Tornado Cash co-founder, through the same platform earlier today. This dual donation reflects a growing trend within the crypto community to provide financial assistance to those entangled in legal challenges within the decentralized finance ecosystem. The implications of these actions resonate deeply, as they advocate for the importance of defending developers working on projects that push the boundaries of blockchain innovation.