Developer Alexsey Pertsev, the creator of the Ethereum mixing protocol Tornado Cash, was arrested by Dutch authorities in August 2022. He has been waiting for a judicial investigation and verdict. According to the latest indictment, Dutch authorities have accused Tornado Cash of being involved in 36 money laundering transactions. However, the cryptocurrency industry has different opinions in response to these charges.
(Timeline: Tornado Cash founder released on bail! Lawyer supports: Judicial treatment of developers unfair)
(Context: Tornado Cash founder accused of money laundering by US Department of Justice, experts: “Unreasonable under the law” could undermine open-source beliefs)
On August 10, 2022, Alexsey Pertsev, the developer of the Ethereum mixing protocol Tornado Cash, was arrested by Dutch authorities for his involvement in concealing criminal funds and facilitating money laundering activities.
At the time, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, delivering a “regulatory shock” to open-source protocols and ordering the freezing of assets related to Tornado Cash.
Charged with $1.2 billion in money laundering
According to DL News, the recent indictment released by Dutch judicial authorities states that Alexey Pertsev, the developer of the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash, has been charged with participating in money laundering activities, involving a total amount of $1.2 billion.
The indictment lists 36 suspected money laundering transactions on the Tornado Cash platform, including one transaction involving 175 ETH. This fund is believed to be related to the Ronin Bridge hacking incident, which occurred in March 2022, resulting in a loss of up to 173,600 ETH and other assets in the background blockchain of the popular web3 game Axie Infinity, with a total value of $590 million.
Further reading: Largest DeFi theft in history! Axie Infinity’s sidechain Ronin hacked for $620 million, SBF confirms funds flowing into FTX
Alexey Pertsev is currently awaiting trial in the Netherlands on charges of money laundering and other financial crimes, with the trial scheduled for March 26. Of particular concern is that the outcome of this case may have a significant impact on “decentralized protocols” in the industry.
Cryptocurrency industry: Open-source tools and authors are neutral
However, behind the legal charges faced by Pertsev, there have actually been different voices within the cryptocurrency industry. Many supporters and protesters of Pertsev believe that Tornado Cash, as a tool, is neutral, and the real problem lies with those who use it as a tool for criminal activities. They believe that responsibility should be attributed to those who misuse the platform for illegal actions, rather than the platform itself or its developers.
In response, one of the co-founders of Bankless publicly voiced support in February 2023:
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