An activist group, JusticeDAO, has launched a legal defense fund in support of accused Tornado Cash developers, Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm.

The fund aims to uphold privacy rights within the realm of web3.

Storm himself has endorsed this movement, and has taken to the X to share his sentiment.

JusticeDAO is actively involved in the defense efforts for the legal matters surrounding Tornado Cash.

The group has enlisted an international team of legal counsel to represent the original TC protocol developers, specifically Pertsev and Storm.

To ensure the availability of necessary resources, JusticeDAO is now accepting donations, both in cryptocurrency and fiat currency, from individuals willing to contribute to the defense effort.

What is Tornado Cash?

Tornado Cash is an open-source software program utilising smart contracts and zero-knowledge proof cryptography to enable private transactions on the blockchain.

Open-source software, unlike proprietary or closed-source software, is accessible to the public for viewing, copying, learning, altering, and distributing.

According to the JusticeDAO website, it claims that the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), a US Treasury regulatory agency responsible for applying sanctions, has, for the first time, treated software code akin to an entity or person subject to sanctions.

This move has sparked ongoing legal debates and a lawsuit against OFAC, challenging the sanctions on various grounds, filed on behalf of Coinbase employees and others.

The Treasury alleges that Tornado Cash has facilitated the laundering of approximately $7 billion in cryptocurrency since its inception in 2019.

Tornado Cash has been implicated in laundering $445 million hacked by the Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacker group with US penalties, as well as in the Ronin Network and Horizon Bridge hacks.

Tornado Cash continues to be used for a myraid of purposes, including money laundering.

The Treasury also claims that Tornado Cash laundered $7.8 million in stolen assets from the recent Nomad robbery.

Privacy on the Blockchain

JusticeDAO highlights the privacy aspect of Tornado Cash - calling it crucial in a world where all information about blockchain transactions is available to any user.

The software was developed to ensure transaction privacy, especially for personal, socio-political, or charitable reasons, exemplified by Ethereum co-founders using Tornado Cash for donations to Ukraine.

In 2023, ChipMixer, a similar coin mixer, faced a crackdown in Europe. German and US authorities, with support from Europol and other national agencies, seized servers, bitcoins, and data from ChipMixer, alleging its involvement in money laundering activities.

ChipMixer was reportedly used by ransomware actors to launder ransom payments.