Vitalik Buterin expressed his support for Roman Storm, the developer of Tornado Cash. Roman Storm was convicted in August 2025 of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business and currently faces up to five years in prison. In his letter, Vitalik Buterin emphasized that privacy tools are a necessary defense against systemic data exploitation and revealed that he has used the software multiple times to support human rights charities. As of January 2026, Roman Storm's legal defense fund had raised over $6.39 million in 2025. Previously, Vitalik Buterin donated 50 ETH, worth approximately $170,000, in December 2024. The Ethereum Foundation also donated $500,000 in 2025 and pledged to provide matching funds of up to $750,000 for community donations. Currently, global law enforcement actions against privacy encryption tools are escalating; the founder of Samourai Wallet was sentenced to four to five years in prison in November 2025.