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- Alexey Pertsev, a developer linked to Tornado Cash, was released under electronic surveillance conditionally, as he faces money laundering fees.
- This case raises the issue of privacy-focused cryptographic tools and developer liability amid ongoing legal challenges.
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According to his social media posts, Tornado Cash Developer Alexey Pertsev will be released from pretrial custody on February 7 under electronic monitoring conditions.
Dear friend, I'll be free on Friday, February 7th at 10am! It's not true freedom, but it's better than prisons. Today, a Dutch court has suspended my pretrial detention under the conditions of electronic surveillance. This gives me the opportunity to tackle my appeal and fight…
– Alexey Pertsev (@alex_pertsev) February 6, 2025
Pertsev faces money laundering fees related to his involvement in Tornado Cash, a mixed cryptographic service approved by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control in August 2022.
The Treasury alleged that the platform was used to wash over $7 billion in digital assets, including $455 million stolen by the North Korean Lazarus group.
This case sparked debate over the regulation of cryptographic tools that focuses on developer responsibility and privacy.
Dutch prosecutors argued that tornado cash is operated as a decentralized protocol for Ethereum, but its creators maintain control through a centralized web interface used by most users.
The Crypto community has gathered behind Pertsev, and organizations like Justicedao are raising money for his legal defense. His case highlights the tension between privacy ingestion technology and anti-money laundering regulations in the crypto sector.
You can donate Fiat at Roman's Fund, Alexey's Fund, or General Fund at Justicitao: https://t.co/ph42shojgl
– Free Pertsev & Storm (@freealexeyroman) October 8, 2024
Last May, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum 30 ETH has been donated to Tornado Cash Legal Defense We worked on developing a crypto mixer that complies with regulations.
November, The federal court of appeals has found that the Department of Treasury sanctions on tornado cash are illegalemphasises the limitations of government regulatory power on decentralized technologies.
The U.S. Court of Appeals later found that OFAC sanctions on tornado cash exceeded regulators and added another complexity to ongoing legal proceedings.
The fallout from the sanctions affected many users who found their funds were either locked or blocked from the exchange due to previous interactions with authorized addresses.
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