How Vitalik Buterin Protests US Sanctions


You have to give credit to Vitalik Buterin. When it comes to standing up for principles, he is always ready to back his stance with real actions. His reaction to the sanctions imposed on the Tornado Cash mixer speaks volumes.


The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) accused the platform of money laundering. Roman Storm, one of its co-founders, is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, sanctions violations, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Storm, who has pleaded not guilty, claims the platform is open-source and outside his control.


Roman Storm will stand trial in December, and he faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted. The crypto community was shaken by the potential sentence length. They established JusticeDAO to crowdsource a defense fund for Roman and another developer, Alexey Pertsev, who created the code for the platform, and was recently sentenced to over five years for laundering $1.2 billion through Tornado Cash. Both developers claim they are being persecuted for writing code.


Vitalik Buterin donated 100 ETH to this defense fund, since he is an influential figure in the Ethereum community, his support carries significant weight.   By the way, it's the third time he has contributed. Vitalik is still committed to protecting privacy and open-source principles, so he couldn't remain indifferent. His backing is even symbolic. It sends a clear message about the risks developers face from regulators.


Initially, these mixers were created to protect the privacy of users. But their open-source nature has become a double-edged sword in the eyes of regulators. 

This case instilled fear among developers. One of the crucial questions, widely debated now: should developers be held accountable for the software they develop if someone abuses it?


#VitalikButerin #TornadoCash #RomanStorm #PrivacyMatters #OpenSource #USSanctions #CryptoRegulation #AlexeyPertsev #ETH #Defi #MoneyLaundering

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