Alexey Pertsev, the developer of Tornado Cash, has been allowed to leave prison under electronic monitoring while preparing to appeal his conviction for money laundering. He announced this on February 6 via a post on the X platform.
Pertsev noted that this does not mean "true freedom," as he must comply with the conditions of electronic monitoring.
"The Dutch court suspended my pre-trial detention under the condition of electronic monitoring. This will allow me to work on the appeal and fight for justice," he wrote.
Court Found Pertsev Guilty
Pertsev was arrested in August 2022 in the Netherlands. On May 14, 2024, the court found him guilty of money laundering through Tornado Cash and sentenced him to five years and four months in prison.
The developer claimed he should not be held responsible for how users utilize Tornado Cash, but the court determined that he and the other creators of the platform should have taken measures to prevent criminal use of the service.
Pertsev’s lawyers appealed the sentence immediately after the ruling, but he remained in pre-trial detention. He had previously been denied bail three times, most recently in July 2024.
Tornado Cash Case and International Charges
In August 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Tornado Cash co-founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov with laundering over $1 billion through the platform. Semenov is still on the run and has been included on the FBI's most-wanted list. Storm was released on a $2 million bail and is set to stand trial in April 2025.
Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in August 2022. However, on November 27, 2024, a U.S. court overturned these sanctions, ruling that Tornado Cash’s smart contracts cannot be considered property or services and, therefore, do not fall under economic sanctions.
Market Reaction
After the sanctions were lifted, on January 22, the price of the TORN token skyrocketed from $3.6 to $40 in just an hour and a half, before retreating to $17.66. The token surged almost 400% in 24 hours, with trading volume increasing by 18,634%.
News of Pertsev's temporary release also had a positive impact on the token's value. In the last 24 hours, TORN rose nearly 12%, and at the time of writing, it is trading at $12.5.
The Tornado Cash case remains a key issue for the crypto industry, as its outcome could determine the future of decentralized solutions for confidential transactions.
Previously, Donald Trump pardoned Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, who was serving two life sentences and 40 years for creating a platform that facilitated illegal goods trading using Bitcoin.
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