The Solana Policy Institute (SPI) has pledged $500,000 to the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev, according to an Aug. 28 statement.

Storm and Pertsev helped create Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based privacy protocol that allows crypto transactions to be mixed and anonymized. After deployment, the developers relinquished control of the smart contracts, leaving the system to run without centralized oversight.

Developers held liable

Courts in the Netherlands and the US have held the developers liable for malicious actors’ use of the platform for their illicit activities.

Pertsev was convicted of money laundering in 2024, while Storm was found guilty earlier this month of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

These convictions have elicited strong responses from the crypto community, which argues that the Tornado Cash developers’ conviction misinterprets how blockchain protocols function.

Industry experts argue that developers cannot monitor or restrict usage of their protocols once the open-source code is published and immutable.

Notably, the SPI echoed this view, warning that holding coders responsible for third-party activity establishes a precedent that threatens innovation across the entire software industry.

Kristin Smith, the President of the Solana Policy Institute, said:

“Privacy is normal. Code is speech. And at Solana Institute, we’ll continue to defend the rights of software developers everywhere.”

Solana welcomes ‘Tornado Cash-like’ protocol

The SPI donation comes as Solana welcomes the launch of a Tornado Cash–style platform on its network.

On Aug. 27, Privacy Cash went live on the network, offering users a way to transfer digital assets into new wallets without linking prior addresses or transaction histories.

Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius Labs, said the tool’s design mirrors Tornado Cash’s but benefits from Solana’s performance and integrated block explorers.

According to him, combining the protocol with Solana’s infrastructure—and even bridging to privacy-focused assets like Zcash—gives users a pathway to near-total anonymity.

Mentioned in this article

Roman Storm, the co-founder of the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash, has asked for help to raise an immediate $500,000 ahead of his trial on Monday on charges of money laundering and sanctions violations.

Storm posted on X on Saturday that he faces a “critical shortfall” and needs to raise $500,000 in the next few days, and will need another $1 million within the next few weeks to cover the cost of his legal battle.

“My team is working nonstop to defend code as free speech, protect software development, and push back against government overreach that threatens us all,” he added.

In May, Free Pertsev & Storm, an organization set up to provide legal aid to the Tornado Cash founders, projected that the total legal costs for Storm’s trial would be $2 million.

However, Storm said on Friday that his legal fees will mount to $3.5 million as his trial could last up to four weeks, double the initially anticipated two weeks, due to “complex legal arguments and unforeseen witnesses and evidence.”

Storm was arrested in August 2023 on counts of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and conspiracy to violate US sanctions and faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty.

On Friday, Storm’s legal team attempted to postpone the trial, arguing that prosecutors disclosed a witness after the scheduled deadline had ended.

The judge overseeing Storm’s criminal trial, Judge Katherine Failla, said she would not allow any mention of the US Treasury’s sanctions levied against Tornado Cash, which were withdrawn in March.

Related: Ethereum Foundation pledges $500K to Roman Storm’s defense

In April, the crypto lobbying group the DeFi Education Fund petitioned the Trump administration to end the so-called “lawless prosecution” of open-source software developers, including Roman Storm.

57% of goal raised for Tornado Cash trial

Storm is attempting to raise $3.5 million in total. At the time of writing, Storm has managed to raise $1.96 million, approximately 57% of the goal.

Since the donations are made in Ether (ETH), the amount raised can fluctuate. Currently, ETH is trading at $3,030, up 2.9% in the past 24 hours, according to Nansen.

Last month, the Ethereum Foundation said it would donate $500,000 and match community donations up to $750,000 for Storm’s legal defense.

MetaCartel’s Bill Warren said that the MetaCartel DAO has given all the funds it had left in its treasury to support the cause.

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