Jailed Tornado Cash Developer Alexey Pertsev To Be Freed Under Supervision

Source Bitcoinist

Alexey Pertsev, the developer of the Ethereum-based mixer Tornado Cash, has been granted supervised release after spending many months in a Dutch prison.

This decision marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing discourse surrounding privacy tools in the crypto space.

“It is not real freedom, but it is better than prison,” Pertsev said. “Today, a Dutch court suspended my pretrial detention under the condition of electronic monitoring.”

Background: Tornado Cash, Alexey Pertsev, And The Controversies

Originally introduced in December 2019, Tornado Cash is an open-source, non-custodial cryptocurrency mixer running on Ethereum and other compatible networks. It helps consumers to hide transaction histories by combining identifiable money with others, thereby enhancing privacy.

However, this function has attracted attention from regulators. In August 2022, the US Department of the Treasury banned Tornado Cash for allegedly helping to mask dirty money. This move caused the project’s website and GitHub accounts to be shut down, and Pertsev was then arrested by the Dutch police.

Legal Action Vs. Dirty Money

After his detention, Pertsev was charged in the Netherlands for using Tornado Cash to enable money laundering. Prosecutors said he helped to enable the laundering of around $1.2 billion between July 2019 and August 2022.

Pertsev was found guilty by a Dutch court in May 2024 and sentenced to 64 months in jail. According to the court, Alexey Pertsev had “a history of performing money laundering” over the designated period and Tornado Cash was “designed for criminals”.

Community Reaction And Appeals Programs

The crypto community responded strongly to Pertsev’s conviction. Many saw the decision as an insult to open-source development and personal liberties. Founder of CryptoCanal Eleonore Blanc said she was “ashamed of the Dutch legal system” for being “blind and deaf to the actual creativity and genius of Alexey & [Tornado Cash].”

Pertsev’s legal team responded to the conviction by quickly submitting an appeal against the court’s ruling and aimed at reversing the outcome.

Controlled Release And Future Implications

In this legal drama, the latest ruling allowing Pertsev supervised release marks a dramatic change. Although particular circumstances of his release have not been made public, such plans usually entail monitoring and limits on particular activities.

This development enables Alexey Pertsev to prepare for his next appeal outside of prison. Debates regarding the equilibrium among technological innovation, privacy, and governmental regulation in the rapidly evolving landscape of cryptocurrencies remain central to the issue.

The community is attentively monitoring this development due to its potential to establish significant precedents for the future of decentralized technology and the rights of open-source developers.

The resolution of the appeal process will undoubtedly have significant implications for the cryptocurrency sector and developers of privacy-centric solutions.

Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
placeholder
Solana Price Forecast: SOL eyes record highs as institutional demand, on-chain metrics underpin rallySolana (SOL) price trades in green, above $242 at the time of writing on Monday, after breaking out of a parallel channel last week with bulls aiming for record highs.
Author  FXStreet
Sep 15, Mon
Solana (SOL) price trades in green, above $242 at the time of writing on Monday, after breaking out of a parallel channel last week with bulls aiming for record highs.
placeholder
Gold sits near record high as Fed rate cut bets keep USD depressedGold (XAU/USD) retreats slightly after touching a fresh record high, around the $3,689-3,690 region during the Asian session on Tuesday, amid some repositioning trade ahead of key central bank events.
Author  FXStreet
22 hours ago
Gold (XAU/USD) retreats slightly after touching a fresh record high, around the $3,689-3,690 region during the Asian session on Tuesday, amid some repositioning trade ahead of key central bank events.
placeholder
USD/CHF slumps to near 0.7900 as Fed dovish bets weigh on US DollarThe USD/CHF pair falls sharply to near 0.7915 during the European trading session on Tuesday.
Author  FXStreet
19 hours ago
The USD/CHF pair falls sharply to near 0.7915 during the European trading session on Tuesday.
placeholder
Forex Today: US Dollar remains weak pre-Fed, Gold hits new record-highThe US Dollar (USD) stays under modest bearish pressure early Tuesday as investors adjust their positions ahead of the Federal Reserve's critical two-day policy meeting.
Author  FXStreet
19 hours ago
The US Dollar (USD) stays under modest bearish pressure early Tuesday as investors adjust their positions ahead of the Federal Reserve's critical two-day policy meeting.
placeholder
NZD/USD Price Forecast: Maintains its bullish stance despite rejection at 0.5980The NZD has failed to breach 0.5980 resistance against the USD, but downside attempts remain limited so far.
Author  FXStreet
18 hours ago
The NZD has failed to breach 0.5980 resistance against the USD, but downside attempts remain limited so far.
goTop
quote