The Solana Policy Institute, a prominent crypto lobbying organization, announced on Thursday a donation of $500,000 to support the legal defenses of Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev. The funding aims to bolster their efforts amid ongoing legal challenges related to allegations of facilitating money laundering.
The firm announced the donation initiative in a post on its X account. Both of them were convicted in the United States and the Netherlands, respectively.
Storm was found guilty earlier this month in Manhattan of operating an illegal money transmitting business and faces up to five years in federal prison.
In the year 2022, a Dutch court found Pertsev guilty of money laundering, leading to a sentence that exceeded five years. The convictions of the Tornado Cash developers have sparked widespread concern in the crypto and tech sectors for years.
“These prosecutions continue to set a chilling precedent that threatens the software development industry,” stated Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of the Solana Policy Institute, in a Thursday blog post.
He further added that, “If the government can prosecute developers for creating neutral tools that others misuse, it fundamentally changes developers’ risk calculus.”
Despite the Trump administration’s generally pro-crypto policies since January, the Department of Justice (DOJ) proceeded with charges against Storm originally filed in 2023 under the Biden administration.
However, a senior DOJ official indicated last week to crypto leaders that prosecutors would no longer target developers of “truly decentralized” software that avoids user fund custody but is exploited for laundering.
Crypto advocates have struck a balance between applauding the administration’s stance and cautioning against upholding Storm’s conviction. The upcoming appeal will test whether the DOJ has shifted its approach to decentralized software and criminal liability.
The matter has grown critical for the crypto sector. On Wednesday, 114 crypto firms and lobbying groups, including the Solana Policy Institute, urged the Senate Banking Committee in a letter to amend an upcoming crypto market structure bill. This amendment would exempt decentralized software developers from the money transmitting charge that is currently applied to Storm.
The donation also addresses recent intra-industry debates, as Tornado Cash runs on Ethereum, a Solana rival. Ethereum supporters have backed the developers. Erik Voorhees, the founder of Bitcoin, questioned the Solana advocates’ dedication to wider crypto principles. The Solana Policy Institute, established this year, has strong ties to developer advocacy, including for Tornado Cash specifically.
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