Ethereum allocates zkVerified fees to Tornado Cash legal defense

• Tornado Cash developers receive financial support
• Ethereum Foundation Donates zkVerified Protocol Fees
• Keyring defends the right to privacy in blockchains

The Ethereum Foundation and Keyring Network have joined forces to raise funds in support of developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev, who are facing legal action related to Tornado Cash. This move reinforces the organizations' commitment to development freedom in decentralized environments.

The initiative was announced on October 10th and aims to establish a funding model focused on the legal defense of those working on open source code development. According to the announcement, the first three months of fees earned through the zkVerified permissioned vaults, already implemented on the Ethereum mainnet, will be redirected to this purpose.

For Alex McFarlane, CEO of Keyring Network, the move signals a clear stance on digital privacy: “We believe that privacy is a fundamental right and that open source developers should not face criminal liability for writing code.”

I'm beyond grateful 🙏 to @KeyringNetwork for donating their protocol fees to cover legal expenses. @ethereumfndn is also coordinating support and standing with me.

We still have a long way to go in this appeal as the Court has decided that an additional investigation has to be…

— Alexey Pertsev (@alex_pertsev) October 10, 2025

McFarlane also highlighted the importance of demonstrating that DeFi solutions can be compatible with security and regulatory compliance, without abandoning privacy principles: “By directing our initial protocol fees to the defense of Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev, we demonstrate that zkVerified DeFi can coexist with legal accountability and support for pioneering builders.”

After the project was announced, Alexey Pertsev spoke on the X network, publicly thanking everyone for their contributions: "We still have a long way to go in this appeal, as the Court ruled that further investigation is necessary. We continue to work for justice, and your help is invaluable to #CodeWithoutFear."

The Ethereum community's support in this case highlights the growing debate about privacy and accountability in the cryptocurrency industry, especially when it comes to developers creating tools that blur the lines between anonymity, compliance, and technological freedom.