Ethereum Co-founder Reiterates Support for Roman Storm, Citing Privacy

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, has doubled down on his support of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, who could be retried on two felony charges sometime this year.

In a Friday X post, Buterin warned his followers about privacy from both the public and governments, adding that he had used Tornado Cash to make transactions in furtherance of this principle. The Ethereum co-founder has supported Storm since before his criminal trial, saying that developing software for others to use for privacy was not a crime. 

“I have personally used Roman’s software to make transactions — to buy software for my own use, without my name ending up in corporate databases, to support charities that protect valuable human rights, and other goals,” said Buterin. “Roman has been a principled and steadfast developer of these principles. Unlike some others, who use these causes as an excuse to make profit and write software that has flashy advertising but is broken under the hood […]”

Storm was indicted in August 2023 for running an unlicensed money transmitter business and engaging in a conspiracy to commit money laundering and a conspiracy to violate sanctions. He was found guilty of the first charge in August, but a jury deadlocked on the other two.

Related: Roman Storm asks DeFi devs: Can you be sure DOJ won’t charge you?

As of Friday, it was uncertain whether US prosecutors would retry Storm on the two felony charges or when he would be sentenced for running an unlicensed money transmitter business. He has repeatedly claimed he was innocent and drew support from many in the crypto industry, who claim “writing code is not a crime.“

Presidential intervention in Storm’s case?

In November, following the verdict in Storm’s criminal trial, a group of crypto companies and advocacy groups called on US President Donald Trump to step in and “urge the Department of Justice to dismiss all open charges” against the Tornado Cash developer.

Trump had not publicly commented on Storm’s case as of Friday, nor had he suggested that he planned to issue a presidential pardon. Polymarket’s event contract on potential Trump pardons before 2027 showed several crypto industry figures including former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, but not Storm.

Storm’s lawyers and prosecutors are scheduled to return to court for a conference to discuss the case on Jan. 22.

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