Tornado Cash Co-Founder Alexey Pertsev Released Under House Arrest

Nearly nine months after his conviction, Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Pertsev was released from Dutch prison today. He will remain under house arrest until his appeal is fully processed.

Although US sanctions against Tornado Cash were recently lifted, these wins are only a small bright spot in a long case. Criminal activity on the platform increased last year, which may hurt Pertsev in the appeals process.

Tornado Cash’s Pertsev Takes a Small Win

Alexey Pertsev, co-founder of cryptocurrency tumbler Tornado Cash, has been through quite an ordeal. Pertsev was convicted of money laundering last May in a controversial ruling for the crypto space.

Pertsev maintained an open-source platform that criminals used, which led to his arrest despite the lack of any direct involvement. However, he was released today.

“Freedom is priceless, but my freedom cost a lot of money. My house arrest was only possible thanks to the work of lawyers, who were paid from your donations. My fight is not over yet, and for a final and confident victory, I still need your help,” Pertsev claimed via social media.

Pertsev’s struggle and the Tornado Cash case have won support from the community. Paradigm pledged $1.25 million for co-founder Roman Storm’s own legal battle, and Vitalik Buterin also donated to the project’s developers.

Pertsev is still under house arrest pending an appeal, and he’s been seeking donations for his legal fund since August.