Vitalik Buterin backs privacy as Jan. 26 verdict looms for Tornado Cash developer

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has publicly registered his support for Roman Storm, the developer behind cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash, ahead of Storm’s upcoming sentencing hearing.

Storm was convicted in August 2025 of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business following a four-week trial.

In a letter posted to X on January 9, Buterin, who wrote that privacy is “necessary for many parts of our society, including culture and politics, to function, without devolving into social games or outright coercion,” also stated in the same letter, “If someone has information about you, they have the power to exploit you – socially, commercially, or even physically.”

He also stated that he has used Tornado Cash in the past for anonymous software purchases and donations to human rights organizations.

Storm faces up to five years in prison, among other possible penalties. The jury was unable to reach a decision on two more serious charges, which were conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions.

All eyes will be on the January 22 hearing when the court will rule on whether Storm will be acquitted on the three charges or if the government wants to retry him on the two other charges.

Tornado Cash devs caught in the storm of privacy, illicit use and regulators

Tornado Cash came under sanctions from the U.S. Department of the Treasury in August 2022.

Prosecutors alleged it had processed illicit funds, enabling hackers like the North Korea-affiliated Lazarus Group to launder stolen funds.

However, in March 2025, the same department, via its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), removed Tornado Cash from its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List).

Cofounder Alexey Pertsev was sentenced to 64 months in prison by a Dutch court after it found him guilty of money laundering under its laws. However, he is currently appealing that ruling. Roman Semenov, the third co-founder, is currently at large while he faces the same charges as Storm in the U.S.

Storm’s defense says that he had no custody or control over funds after the protocol’s deployment, while prosecutors contend that he knew criminals were using the platform and continued to profit from its operation.

In his appeal for community support, Storm wrote, “They argued that writing code is a crime. They compared privacy tools to money laundering. But we know the truth: Privacy is a human right. Math is not a crime.”

He added, “The fight for my freedom – and for the future of open-source software – is at a critical moment. I need your voice to show the world that this community stands together” while also directing supporters to submit letters through a link he shared in the same post.

Buterin’s letter was in response to that call.

US regulatory stance has shifted

Storm has seen some key wins coinciding with President Trump’s return to office in the United States. For example, U.S. In December 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that OFAC exceeded its authority by sanctioning Tornado Cash smart contracts.

More recently, in August 2025, Department of Justice (DOJ) official Matthew Galeotti informed crypto industry leaders that federal prosecutors would no longer pursue charges under the specific statute Storm was convicted of violating when targeting decentralized software developers.

The Ethereum Foundation and Keyring Network have launched a joint initiative redirecting protocol fees for two months to Storm and Pertsev’s legal defense fund, supplemented by an additional $500,000 from the Ethereum Foundation.

Are crypto developers safe?

Buterin’s letter stated that privacy protections taken for granted in the pre-digital era are now under threat.

“This is not a radical viewpoint – usually, it is simply asking for protections that existed by default in the world of 1950, where our physical locations, our conversations and our dollars were not tracked by anyone,” he wrote.

The entire privacy tech and developer community has a lot riding on Storm’s sentencing. However it plays out, it will certainly be a reference point for subsequent cases of developer liability in the U.S.

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