Key Points
- Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, advocates for the release of developers Virgil Griffith and Roman Storm.
- The crypto community’s focus on justice is renewed following Ross Ulbricht’s recent pardon by President Donald Trump.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has publicly advocated for the release of renowned developers in the crypto world who are currently incarcerated.
Buterin and several others are calling for the release of Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith and Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash.
This appeal comes as the crypto community reflects on the recent pardon of Ross Ulbricht by President Donald Trump.
The release of Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, has reignited conversations about justice and connections within the digital currency space.
Vitalik’s Call for Justice
In a recent post, Buterin wrote, “No man left behind,” calling for President Trump to intervene in the release of Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev, co-founders of Tornado Cash.
His statement resonated with the desire for justice and support for his colleagues facing legal battles.
Buterin’s appeal came shortly after President Trump signed an executive order pardoning Ross Ulbricht, who received double life sentences for creating the infamous Silk Road darknet marketplace.
The timing of the pardon has added weight to Buterin’s message and refocused attention on the challenges faced by individuals in the crypto community.
The Legal Cases Against Tornado Cash, Griffith, and Storm
Virgil Griffith’s case gained attention after he was sentenced to 56 months in prison in 2021 for violating US sanctions by travelling to North Korea in 2019 and offering advice on how crypto could be used to bypass sanctions.
Roman Storm’s case relates to his role in Tornado Cash, a decentralized crypto mixer.
In 2023, he was charged with money laundering and sanctions violations for running the platform.
Storm has defended himself, arguing that his First Amendment rights were violated.
Tornado Cash has faced intense scrutiny from US regulators for years.
In 2022, the US Treasury Department sanctioned the platform, claiming that it served as a venue to launder money and evade sanctions.
However, many in the crypto world disagreed, saying Tornado Cash is just software and cannot be treated like a person or entity.
The Tornado Cash Liberation
In a surprising turn of events, a US appeals court ruled in November 2023 that the US Treasury had overstepped its authority when it sanctioned the platform.
Recently, a Texas court ordered that the sanctions be reversed, marking a significant victory for the crypto community.
The cases of Virgil Griffith and Roman Storm highlight the crypto world’s struggles with freedom, regulation, and fairness.
Ulbricht’s pardon sparked reactions, including one from a community member wishing Binance co-founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao a pardon too.
CZ was forced to step down as Binance CEO in 2023 when the US authorities charged the exchange with violating securities laws and anti-money laundering regulations.
The trading platform was hit with a multi-billion-dollar fine, and CZ received a lifetime ban from holding leadership roles within the company.
In 2024, he served a brief prison sentence in the US, and the threat of additional legal action still looms over him.
