Vitalik Buterin: Firmly supports Tornado Cash developers, with over $6.3 million raised so far

According to Odaily, Vitalik Buterin has expressed support for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm. Roman Storm was convicted in August 2025 for conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and is currently facing up to five years in prison. In his letter, Vitalik Buterin emphasized that privacy tools are a necessary defense against systemic data exploitation and revealed that he has used this software multiple times to support human rights charities.

As of January 2026, Roman Storm's legal defense fund had raised over $6.39 million in 2025. Previously, Vitalik Buterin donated 50 ETH, worth approximately $170,000, in December 2024. The Ethereum Foundation also donated $500,000 in 2025 and pledged to match community donations up to $750,000. Currently, global law enforcement actions against privacy encryption tools are escalating, and the founders of Samourai Wallet were also sentenced to four to five years in prison in November 2025.