Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin has made significant donations to Alexey Pertsev, a developer of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer that was previously sanctioned by the US government. According to data from Etherscan, Buterin donated a total of 100 ETH to Pertsev on two separate occasions to assist with his legal expenses.
The first donation was 50 ETH, equivalent to approximately $170,000, made to Juicebox: Support Alexey Pertsev. Currently, the support fund has raised over 184 ETH. Pertsev, a Tornado Cash developer, is in need of additional funds to cover ongoing legal fees. Buterin made a second donation of 50 ETH to Juicebox: Support Alexey Pertsev, bringing the total donation to 100 ETH, valued at around $340,000.
A dedicated page on X publicly expressed gratitude to Buterin for his donation, acknowledging his support for the Tornado Cash developers.
In May 2024, Pertsev was sentenced to five years and four months in prison by a Dutch court for alleged money laundering involving billions of dollars.
Tornado Cash was banned by the US in 2022 due to national security concerns. However, in November of the previous year, a US appeals court overturned the ban, ruling that the actions taken by the Treasury Department were illegal. The judge in the case determined that smart contracts do not meet the technical definition of “property,” and therefore, the ban imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was an overreach of power.
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