Arbitrum

Tornado Cash

Tornado

Coin

The Arbitrum DAO is voting to fund the legal defense costs of Tornado Cash’s developers. If approved, the community would donate up to ​​600,000 ARB tokens in the first year, worth nearly $1.3 million at the time of writing.&nbsp;
A proposal <a href="https://snapshot.org/#/arbitrumfoundation.eth/proposal/0xa819a4faf67d7b52272b2ddc8c5a48f87407269e689740fed781a29707c8f44c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">submitted</a> on March 7 by pseudonymous delegate DK seeks to fund a “robust legal defense” for Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev, the developers behind the crypto mixer Tornado Cash. In addition, the funds could be used for public relations and advocacy efforts promoting awareness around privacy-preserving technologies and legal burdens for developers.
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “By rallying support for their legal fund, we aim to safeguard not only the future of privacy-preserving technologies but also the broader principles of innovation, decentralization, and individual sovereignty within our industry.”
</blockquote>
The proposal sets three tiers for voting under different funding levels, ranging from 200,000 to 600,000 ARB. To date, more than 80% of the votes have been cast for the highest tier. The deadline for voting is March 14.
The accusations against Tornado Cash and its founders revolve around the platform’s alleged role in laundering over $1 billion in illicit funds, including money linked to the North Korean hacking organization Lazarus Group. As a result, Tornado Cash&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tornado-cash-co-founders-charged-with-money-laundering-sanctions-violations-ofac" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">has been subject to significant legal actions</a>, including its addition to the United States sanctions lists, effectively banning residents in the country from using the service and sparking controversy within the cryptocurrency community​.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true"><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-03/2328a62c-875f-42e7-80b0-129ec87c99c2.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">Proposal open for vote
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Supporters of Tornado Cash<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tornado-cash-indictment-in-conflict-with-fincen-rules" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> argue that the platform merely provides</a> software for decentralized money transmission and does not directly engage in money transmission itself, which challenges the basis of the charges against its developers. According to the crypto advocacy group Coin Center, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) guidelines state that an anonymizing software provider should not be considered a money transmitter.
Storm and Pertsev <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tornado-cash-co-founders-charged-with-money-laundering-sanctions-violations-ofac" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">face several charges from U.S. authorities</a>, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
The first two charges can each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while the charge for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business is punishable by up to five years in prison​.
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “These [legal] challenges not only threaten the developers’ ability to continue their work but also undermine the fundamental principles of decentralization and individual freedom upon which projects with privacy-preserving technologies are built.”
</blockquote>
The community proposal comes just a few days after the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/gofundme-tornado-cash-defense-crowdfunding" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">canceled a fundraiser dedicated to collecting legal fees</a> for Storm and Pertsev, citing a breach of their terms of service that could “expose GoFundMe, its employees or Users to any harm or liability of any type.”
Magazine:&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/tornado-cash-2-0-the-race-to-build-safe-and-legal-coin-mixers/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Tornado Cash 2.0 — The race to build safe and legal coin mixers</a>

Arbitrum DAO votes on $1M fund for Tornado Cash devs' legal defense

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Mar 8, 2024

Analyst Picks DeeStream (DST) Over Binance Coin (BNB) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH): A Closer Look at th...

Will This AI Crypto Be the Next Chainlink? Crypto Community Buzzes $11M Mark Hits

Layer-2 Crypto Buying Time? Grab the Opportunity Today!

Surge in Fantom’s Trading Volume and Price Dynamics Spurs Investor Scrutiny

Blockchain Life Forum 2024 in Dubai: find out how to make the most of the current Bull Run

Pepecoin (PEPE) coin vs Bonk (BONK), New Rival Priced $0.0014 Gains Pepecoin (PEPE) & Bonk (BONK)...

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!