After Donald Trump has forgiven Silk Road’s founder Ross Ulbricht, calls from the cryptographic community for the release of Tornado Cash co-founders jumped, attracting significant attention. This momentum led to the release of Alex Pertsev, a developer of the Cryptocurrency Tornado Cash, of pre-trial detention in the Netherlands. Faced with accusations of money laundering, Pertsev was released under electronic surveillance, allowing him to prepare his call.
Torn rallies as a regulator releases the co-founder of Tornado
Alex Pertsev, co-founder of the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency mixture, announced that a Dutch court has put a hold on his pre-trial detention and allowed him to go to electronic surveillance while he is preparing to Call.
Alex said: “Freedom is invaluable, but my freedom cost a lot of money. My house arrest was only possible thanks to the work of lawyers, which were paid from your donations. My fight is not over yet and for a final and confident victory, I still need your help. »»
The announcement led to an increase in the price of the Tornado Cash token, Torn, which jumped almost 20% before settling at $ 13.72.
The Dutch authorities arrested Alex Pertsev in August 2022 following American sanctions against Tornado Mixer and his developers. Pertsev has faced charges for money laundering and negligence in the prevention of illegal financial activities on the platform.
In May 2024, a Dutch court sentenced Perseev to five years in prison, concluding that his participation in Tornado Cash helped to whiten the penal funds. The court recognized that the case in cash could be a neutral tool, but said that the promoters were responsible for preventing its abusive use.
After his arrest, the Russian national began to actively attract his conviction and request a deposit. Despite several attempts, his deposit requests were continuously refused. His defense argues that he simply created open source software and should not be criminalized for the way others choose to use it.
The debate continues on the responsibility of the developer
On November 26, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the US Treasury Treasury Office (OFAC) to delete addresses related to the Tarade in cash from its list of people and blocked entities.
This decision was considered a major victory for Pertsev and Roman Storm, another Tornado Cash developer who was arrested in August 2023 and awaited his trial.
The court noted that the sanction of the protocol would not prevent malicious actors from using it because intelligent contracts operate independently and could not be held, controlled or modified. The decision also suggested that the legislation is updated to better regulate the use of crypto-mixers.
Defenders argue that these services are mainly intended to protect the confidentiality of users. However, there have been many cases where criminals used these services to whiten money, which attracted the attention of law enforcement organizations around the world.
