2024

Tornado Cash

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<p class="is-style-lead">Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev has reportedly appealed a guilty verdict in the Netherlands, a case that has sparked a wider discourse crypto privacy.</p>
<p>Pertsev and his legal team, led by lawyer Keith Cheng, reportedly submitted an appeal against the 64-month sentence for allegedly facilitating over $2.2 billion in money laundering through the Ethereum-powered crypto mixer, Tornado Cash.</p>
<p>Several media agencies reported the motion filed with the s-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal, but it remained to be seen if the appeal was approved at press time. An attempt by crypto.news to contact Pertsev’s lawyers for confirmation was not immediately replied to.&nbsp;</p>
<p>On May 14, a three-judge panel <a href="https://crypto.news/tornado-cash-developer-jail-money-laundering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ruled</a> that Pertsev created the open-source privacy tool for illicit use from inception. Tornado Cash allows users to anonymize transactions on an otherwise public blockchain network.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2024:2069" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">court</a>, Pertsev and other major contributors should be held liable for developing tools without guarding against criminal access.&nbsp;</p>
<p>You might also like: <a href="https://crypto.news/tornado-cash-developer-jail-money-laundering/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Tornado Cash developer sentenced to 64 months for money laundering </a></p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="crypto-community-rallies-after-dutch-tornado-cash-verdict">Crypto community rallies after Dutch Tornado Cash Verdict</h2>
<p>The outcome of Pertsev’s trial was met with backlash from the crypto community, with several key opinion leaders scrutinizing the verdict as a war on privacy in Europe. Many argue this reprsents a dangerous precedent for future open-source development cases.</p>
<p>Coin Bureau CEO and co-founder Nic Puckrin <a href="https://x.com/nicrypto/status/1790441162366386595" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">likened</a> the verdict to blaming Microsoft for developing an operating system used by hackers, or charging car makers for aiding bank heists.&nbsp;</p>
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   <p lang="en" dir="ltr">So, they are going to put the Tornado Cash developer in jail for 6 years. <br><br>The main rationale for the charges is that criminals &amp; state hackers used the open source code he wrote. <br><br>But one would also assume that these bad actors used computers with operating systems. <br><br>Are the…</p>— Nic (@nicrypto) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicrypto/status/1790441162366386595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">May 14, 2024</a>
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<p>Privacy advocate Chris Blec <a href="https://x.com/ChrisBlec/status/1790806951238189097" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">insisted</a> that new laws are required to address emerging technology built on blockchains to protect user privacy. Industry proponents have echoed this sentiment, arguing that open-source code is not a criminal offense.&nbsp;</p>
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   <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tornado Cash:<br><br>NOBODY EVER OWNED IT OR OPERATED IT.<br><br>On Ethereum, you can write &amp; deploy an unownable, unstoppable, non-custodial open source app that runs on its own FOREVER.<br><br>This is new tech. It deserves new laws.<br><br>Throwing people in prison for writing code is UNJUST.</p>— Chris Blec (@ChrisBlec) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBlec/status/1790806951238189097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">May 15, 2024</a>
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<p>One user named “Novacula Occami” presented a different view, criticizing crypto proponents for adopting a privacy maximalist standpoint despite the clear criminal use of tools like Tornado Cash.&nbsp;“Money laundering, terrorism financing, and fraud are illegal and crypto doesn’t get a pass,” the so-called crypto realist <a href="https://twitter.com/OccamiCrypto/status/1791156392939925538" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">wrote</a>.</p>
<p>As the debate over blockchain privacy continues and Pertsev fights his sentence in the Netherlands, U.S. crypto participants look toward the trial of another Tornado Cash co-founder, <a href="https://crypto.news/tornado-cash-co-founder-claps-back-laundering-charges/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Roman Storm</a>.</p>
<p>Storm is due in court this September over similar money laundering allegations. However, experts note that U.S. laws differ from Dutch legislation and a Southern District of New York judge may reach a different conclusion.</p>
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   <p lang="en" dir="ltr">My preliminary thoughts on the Pertsev verdict in this thread. I'm sad for Alexey and angry that the money laundering laws in the Netherlands have such a low threshold for intent, essentially mere negligence.<br><br>Nothing in this ruling should prejudice or carry weight in Roman… <a href="https://t.co/t8ilOSeeCZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://t.co/t8ilOSeeCZ</a></p>— Peter Van Valkenburgh (@valkenburgh) <a href="https://twitter.com/valkenburgh/status/1790379572686442713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">May 14, 2024</a>
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<p>Recent cases from the Department of Justice against crypto mixers and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s <a href="https://crypto.news/senators-probe-fincen-crypto-mixer-lawsuits/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">interpretation </a>of money-transmitting policies pose questions regarding the possible outcomes of Storm’s trial and other instances like <a href="https://crypto.news/doj-arrests-samourai-wallet-founder-over-2b-illegal-money-flow/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Samourai Wallet</a>.</p>
<p>Read more: <a href="https://crypto.news/senators-probe-fincen-crypto-mixer-lawsuits/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Bipartisan Senators probe FinCEN crypto mixer lawsuits Bipartisan Senators probe FinCEN crypto mixer lawsuits </a></p>

Tornado Cash developer appeals verdict, KOLs slam Dutch system

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