The Ethereum Foundation has contributed $1.25 million to support the legal defense of Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev.

The EF is donating $1.25M to the legal defense of Alexey Pertsev.

Privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime.

You can contribute to @alex_pertsev's defense here: https://t.co/shWFNoDJ9g https://t.co/ITvEiRkAGt
— Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) February 26, 2025

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin reiterated the message of the original tweet in his comment.

Privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime.

Milady
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 26, 2025

“Privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime,” he wrote.

Buterin has previously expressed support for the Tornado Cash team under investigation. In May 2024, he donated 30 ETH (~$111,000) to the legal defense fund for Pertsev and Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm.

Supporters were also invited to contribute via the decentralized fundraising platform Juicebox.

Pertsev expressed gratitude for the donation.

Great news! Thank you @ethereumfndn for making a huge donation to my legal defense for the case in the Netherlands 💪 I'm very grateful that I can now completely focus on preparing my appeal. This means the world to me. Let’s do this together! 🙏 https://t.co/rdOqiHkQ5G
— Alexey Pertsev (@alex_pertsev) February 26, 2025

“Thank you! Now I can fully focus on preparing my appeal. This means so much to me. Let’s do this together!” he said.

In May 2024, a Dutch court found Pertsev guilty of laundering $1.2 billion through the mixer and sentenced him to 64 months in prison. On February 7, 2025, his pretrial detention was suspended, and he was released with mandatory electronic monitoring.

Money laundering and sanctions violation charges in the U.S. have also been filed against Tornado Cash co-founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov.

In January, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the OFAC sanctions imposed on Tornado Cash in 2022, sending the case back for further review.