Alexey Pertsev, the developer of the Ethereum-based mixer Tornado Cash, has been granted supervised release after spending many months in a Dutch prison.

This decision marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing discourse surrounding privacy tools in the crypto space.

“It is not real freedom, but it is better than prison,” Pertsev said. “Today, a Dutch court suspended my pretrial detention under the condition of electronic monitoring.”

Background: Tornado Cash, Alexey Pertsev, And The Controversies

Originally introduced in December 2019, Tornado Cash is an open-source, non-custodial cryptocurrency mixer running on Ethereum and other compatible networks. It helps consumers to hide transaction histories by combining identifiable money with others, thereby enhancing privacy.

However, this function has attracted attention from regulators. In August 2022, the US Department of the Treasury banned Tornado Cash for allegedly helping to mask dirty money. This move caused the project’s website and GitHub accounts to be shut down, and Pertsev was then arrested by the Dutch police.

Legal Action Vs. Dirty Money

After his detention, Pertsev was charged in the Netherlands for using Tornado Cash to enable money laundering. Prosecutors said he helped to enable the laundering of around $1.2 billion between July 2019 and August 2022.

Pertsev was found guilty by a Dutch court in May 2024 and sentenced to 64 months in jail. According to the court, Alexey Pertsev had “a history of performing money laundering” over the designated period and Tornado Cash was “designed for criminals”.

Dear Friends, on Friday 7 February at 10 am I will be free! It is not real freedom, but it is better than prison. Today, a Dutch court suspended my pretrial detention under the condition of electronic monitoring. This will give me a chance to work

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Author: Christian Encila

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