Tornado Cash founder nears $2M legal fund goal ahead of trial
Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm has already raised 88% of his $2 million legal defence fund before a US case against him goes to trial on July 14.
Storm’s most recent call for legal backing was launched on May 30. It raised $722,000 by June 25, and has since raised a total of $1,753,000, leaving it just $247,000 away from its $2 million goal.
The appeal raised almost 52% of the funds in the week following June 25. The Ethereum Foundation also promised to match $750,000 of the funding and appears to have contributed to the overall legal fund.
Read more: Cork hacker sends ETH to Tornado Cash, donates to Roman Storm’s fund
Storm’s fundraising efforts haven’t been without hiccups, however, with one $24,000 donation coming from the Cork Protocol hacker. They donated the sum after moving $3.4 million of stolen funds into Storm’s mixer.
Storm quickly announced that he couldn’t accept the donation and that he’d return it to Cork Protocol. He also raised millions for his legal costs back in February, but the ensuing court delays meant he needed another $2 million to keep fighting his case.
Tornado Cash legal fight isn’t cheap
Storm was charged by the US with money laundering and sanctions violations back in 2023, and had a portion of his unlicensed money transmitting business charges dropped.
US prosecutors have since tried to remove several of his expert witnesses for various reasons, including that they might “confuse the jury.”
In an interview with Crypto In America, Storm described his legal battle as far from cheap and listed the “enormous” amount of resources and work the case requires.
Read more: Tornado Cash is safe from US sanctions, says court
He argues that the US case violates the First Amendment and criminalizes code development. When it comes to making Tornado Cash, he told Crypto In America, “I do not have any regrets,” and “I wouldn’t change anything that I’ve done.”
Protos has reached out to Storm for comment and will update this piece should we hear anything back.
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