Ethereum Foundation allocates up to $500 to Roman Storm's defense

• Ethereum Foundation Announces Financial Support for Roman Storm
• Tornado Cash co-founder appeals US verdict
• Crypto community defends freedom to develop software

The Ethereum Foundation announced it will allocate up to $500 to support the legal defense of Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash. The announcement was made on X, the foundation's official profile, with the message: "Privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime." Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, also shared the post.

The EF is donating $500K to the legal defense of Roman Storm, and we will match up to a further $750K in donations from the community.

Privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime.

— Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) June 13, 2025

Storm was recently convicted by a New York jury of operating an unlicensed money transfer business. The jury, however, failed to reach a consensus on the charges of money laundering and sanctions violations. The defense, led by attorney Brian Klein, is already preparing to appeal the decision.

In 2023, Storm was formally charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and sanctions violations related to his operation of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer. According to prosecutors, the platform facilitated more than $1 billion in illicit transactions, including millions of dollars allegedly destined for the North Korean hacker group Lazarus. Storm pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Free Pertsev & Storm, an organization created to financially support the defense of the Tornado Cash co-founders, warned that Storm could face up to five years in prison if the appeal is unsuccessful, and up to decades if new charges are filed by the U.S. government. "We will need these funds and more to continue the fight for Roman in the trial court and on appeal," the organization stated, noting that the outcome of the case could set an important precedent for developers worldwide.

Crypto industry organizations and advocates have come out in support of Storm, arguing that creating software for decentralized, non-custodial protocols does not constitute operating a money transfer service. "We are disappointed that the jury failed to recognize that Storm should not be held liable for the actions of third parties he could not control," the DeFi Education Fund wrote. The group reiterated the importance of ensuring freedom to create decentralized financial tools, including privacy-preserving solutions.