The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has announced a donation of $1.25 million to support the legal defense of Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev, who is preparing to appeal his money laundering conviction in the Netherlands.

This follows a similar contribution from Matt Huang, co-founder of investment firm Paradigm, who announced a $1.25 million donation in support of Pertsev’s Tornado Cash counterpart, Roman Storm.

The EF is donating $1.25M to the legal defense of Alexey Pertsev. Privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime. You can contribute to @alex_pertsev’s defense here: https://t.co/shWFNoDJ9g https://t.co/ITvEiRkAGt — Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) February 26, 2025

Aya Miyaguchi’s First Major Action

Less than 24 hours after being announced as the Ethereum Foundation’s new head, Miyaguchi made her mark with this significant donation to support Pertsev.

Pertsev expressed gratitude for the support through his X account, stating:
Great news! Thank you @ethereumfndn for making a huge donation to my legal defense for the case in the Netherlands. I’m very grateful that I can now completely focus on preparing my appeal. This means the world to me. Let’s do this together!

In May 2024, Pertsev was convicted of money laundering by a Dutch court and sentenced to five years and four months in prison.

Paradigm’s Matching Support

The EF’s $1.25 million donation coincides with Paradigm’s similar contribution to Roman Storm’s legal defense.

Paradigm will be donating $1.25M to help fund Roman Storm’s legal defense.
The prosecution’s case threatens to hold software developers criminally liable for the bad acts of third parties, which would have a chilling effect in crypto and beyond.
We must stand with @rstormsf https://t.co/OvPHNYeGFD — Matt Huang (@matthuang) January 28, 2025

Both Pertsev and Storm are facing legal challenges related to their involvement in the Tornado Cash project, highlighting ongoing debates about privacy in the crypto space.