Ethereum founder warns that prosecuting privacy software threatens basic digital rights
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has publicly spoken out against the criminal prosecution of Roman Storm, a developer behind the crypto privacy tool Tornado Cash, arguing that the case represents a dangerous precedent for treating software development as a crime.
Buterin said these protections were neither new nor extreme;
Storm is awaiting sentencing in the United States after being convicted in August on a money-transmitting conspiracy charge, which carries a possible sentence of up to five years in prison. Prosecutors argue that Tornado Cash was used to launder more than one billion dollars in illicit funds, while the defense maintains that the platform is non-custodial software with no direct control over user activity.
In a published letter, Buterin emphasized that privacy tools are essential infrastructure, not criminal enterprises. He explained that such tools allow individuals to transact, donate, and communicate without permanent data trails stored by corporations or governments. Buterin noted that he personally used Tornado Cash to support human rights causes without exposing sensitive information.
The case has drawn widespread backing from across the crypto sector, with Storm’s legal defense raising over $6.3 million in 2025 alone. Advocacy groups warn that prosecuting developers could chill innovation and undermine long-standing protections that existed before the era of mass digital surveillance.
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