Tornado Cash developer appeals verdict, KOLs slam Dutch system

Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev has reportedly appealed the guilty verdict, sparking a broader crypto privacy discourse in the Netherlands.

Pertsev and his legal team, led by attorney Keith Cheng, reportedly appealed his 64-month prison sentence for allegedly facilitating the laundering of over $2.2 billion in money through Ethereum-backed crypto mixer Tornado Cash.

Many media agencies have reported on the motion submitted to the s-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal, but at the time of publishing this article it is not yet known whether the appeal will be approved. There was no immediate response to Crypto.news’ attempt to contact Pertsev’s lawyers for confirmation.

On May 14, a three-judge panel ruled that Pertsev created the open-source privacy tool for illegal use from the beginning. Tornado Cash allows users to anonymize transactions on a public blockchain network.

According to the court, Pertsev and other key contributors should be held accountable for developing tools that did not protect against criminal access.

Crypto community rallies following Dutch Tornado Cash Decision

The outcome of Pertsev’s case was met with backlash from the crypto community; Many prominent opinion leaders viewed the decision as a war on privacy in Europe. Many argue that this sets a dangerous precedent for future open source development.

Coin Bureau CEO and co-founder Nic Puckrin likened the decision to accusing Microsoft of developing an operating system used by hackers or accusing car manufacturers of aiding bank robberies.

So they will imprison the developer of Tornado Cash for 6 years.

The main justification for the accusations is that it uses open source code written by criminals and government hackers.

However, it can also be assumed that these bad actors use computers with operating systems.

…

— Nic (@nicrypto) May 14, 2024

Privacy advocate Chris Blec insisted new laws were needed to address new technologies built on blockchains to protect user privacy. Industry advocates echoed this sentiment, arguing that open source code is not a criminal offense.

Hurricane Cash:

NO ONE HAS OWNED OR USE IT.

On Ethereum, you can write and distribute an unclaimable, unstoppable, unattended open source application that runs on its own forever.

This is new technology. It deserves new laws.

It is UNFAIR to imprison people for writing code.

— Chris Blec (@ChrisBlec) May 15, 2024

A user named “Novacula Occami” offered a different view, criticizing crypto advocates for taking a privacy maximalist perspective despite the clearly criminal use of tools like Tornado Cash. “Money laundering, terrorist financing and fraud are illegal and cryptocurrencies have no right of way,” said the so-called crypto realist Wrote.

As debates over blockchain privacy continue and Pertsev fights his sentence in the Netherlands, US crypto participants are looking ahead to the trial of another Tornado Cash co-founder, Roman Storm.

Storm is expected to go to trial this September over similar money laundering allegations. However, experts note that U.S. law differs from Dutch law and that a Southern District of New York judge may reach a different conclusion.

My preliminary thoughts on the Pertsev decision are included in this topic. I feel sorry for Alexey and angry that the money laundering laws in the Netherlands have such a low threshold for intent and are essentially just negligence.

Nothing in this decision should be detrimental or weigh on Roman… https://t.co/t8ilOSeeCZ

— Peter Van Valkenburgh (@valkenburgh) May 14, 2024

The Justice Department’s recent lawsuits against cryptocurrency mixers and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s interpretation of money transfer policies raise questions about the possible ramifications of Storm’s case and other examples such as the Samourai Wallet.