Ethereum founder backs Roman Storm in court: "Writing code is an act of freedom"

Vitalik Buterin is defending Roman Storm in court, arguing that privacy on the blockchain is an essential right and highlighting the risk to open-source developers.

The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin[Name of company] has intervened directly in one of the legal proceedings most closely watched by the tech industry. Recently, [Name of company] sent a letter of support to the judge presiding over the case. roman storm, the developer and co-founder of Tornado Cash, who is currently awaiting sentencing in the United States after being found guilty in August by a federal jury on charges of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission service. 

Although the prosecution failed to secure convictions on charges of money laundering and sanctions violations, the software engineer faces a potential sentence of up to five years in prison, in a case that has raised concerns about programming freedom and financial privacy.

Therefore, Buterin's intervention is not a minor event, as he represents one of the most influential voices in the crypto ecosystem taking a stand against the US judicial system. 

In her missiveThe creator of Ethereum argues that the trial against Storm sets a dangerous precedent where the creation of neutral software tools is confused with outright criminal activity. Tornado Cash, the protocol at the center of the controversy, is a self-custodial cryptocurrency mixer that allows for the anonymization of transactions on the Ethereum network, a feature that prosecutors described as instrumental in laundering more than $1.000 billion in illicit funds. However, for Buterin and a large part of the technical community, Storm simply built a necessary infrastructure for personal security in the digital age.

Blockchain privacy as a defense against modern vulnerability

In the body of his letter, Buterin articulates a defense that transcends the technical and enters the realm of civil rights. The Russian-Canadian computer scientist argues that the ability to choose with whom we share our financial and personal information is an essential protection in the 21st century. He contends that this stance is not radical, but rather an attempt to recover the protections that existed by default in the physical world of the 1950s, where private conversations and the use of cash did not leave a permanent digital trail accessible to corporations and governments.

Buterin emphatically rejected the notion that privacy should be sacrificed for the sake of national security or regulatory compliance. He explained to the court that government and corporate databases are frequently breached, exposing citizens to physical and commercial risks from hostile actors. 

To illustrate his point, he revealed his own use of the tool created by Storm. Buterin detailed how he used the software to make donations to charities that protect human rights and to purchase personal software, all without his identity being exposed in centralized records that could be used against him.

In addition to the ethical defense, Buterin praised Storm's technical skill and professional integrity. He emphasized that the code written by the defendant remains functional and secure years after he ceased actively maintaining it, a durability characteristic that contrasts sharply with most current consumer technology products. 

For open-source developers, this argument highlights that Storm's responsibility ended with the creation of a robust and neutral tool, and not with the misuse that third parties might later make of it.

A united front of capital and politics against legal persecution

The moral support has been accompanied by a significant influx of financial resources for the legal battle. Buterin himself contributed 50 ETH to Storm's legal defense fund in December 2024, joining the institutional efforts of the Ethereum Foundation and other entities. The industry has interpreted this trial as a existential attack on privacy in blockchainThis has led to cross-donations between regular competitors. 

A notable example was the contribution of the Solana Policy Institute in August 2025, demonstrating that defending developers' rights transcends market rivalries.

To date, Storm's defense fund, also boosted by initiatives like Keyring's, has managed to raise more than $6 million, mainly during 2025. This capital has been vital to face a legal offensive that appears to be coordinated globally. 

Storm's case is progressing in parallel with the sentencing of Alexey Pertsev in the Netherlands and the prison sentences handed down to the founders of Samourai Wallet in the United States. These actions have reinforced the perception that authorities are seeking to hold software developers accountable for financial crimes committed by users of their platforms.

The legislative battle for the right to program code

Roman Storm's sentencing, still pending, comes at a time of intense political friction. The industry has mobilized its lobbyists to demand that the US Congress clarify that codewriting is protected under the First Amendment and should not be treated as a regulated financial activity per se. 

More than 100 organizations have warned lawmakers that American digital innovation is at risk if engineers have to fear jail time for publishing privacy software.

While the judiciary is moving forward with convictions, the executive branch has shown mixed signals. Although the Justice Department maintains a hard line, recent statements from the political sphere, including comments from President Donald Trump regarding the consideration of pardons in similar cases, suggest that the debate over cryptography and individual liberty is far from over. 

Vitalik Buterin's letter not only seeks clemency for a colleague, but also establishes that in a free society, the tools that guarantee privacy must be legal, accessible and, above all, defensible in court.