Paradigm Pledges $1.25M for Tornado Cash Co-Founder's Legal Defense

Paradigm Pledges $1.25 Million for Tornado Cash Co-Founder’s Legal Defense

Paradigm, a leading cryptocurrency investment firm, has pledged $1.25 million toward the legal defense of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm. This commitment comes amid widespread calls of support among crypto enthusiasts for industry personalities facing legal challenges due to US regulations.

Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang took to social media platform X (Twitter) to express his concerns over Storm’s prosecution and committed to supporting his 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 Roman Storm,” Huang wrote.

This commitment reflects the growing concerns within the crypto industry regarding legal actions against developers of privacy-focused blockchain technology. Storm, one of the founders of Tornado Cash, has been embroiled in a legal battle that he claims criminalizes software development. A week ago, he published a detailed X post outlining his predicament. “… I am being prosecuted for writing open-source code that enables private crypto transactions in a completely non-custodial manner. This prosecution represents a terrifying criminalization of privacy. The charges against me threaten to criminalize software development itself,” Storm lamented.

Storm faces severe legal repercussions, including a potential prison sentence of up to 45 years. Charges range from operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy to commit money laundering to sanctions evasion. The case has drawn widespread support from various organizations advocating for DeFi and privacy rights. Groups such as the DeFi Education Fund, Coin Center, and Blockchain Association have filed multiple amicus briefs. His legal counsel, Keri Axel of Waymaker LLP, criticized the prosecution’s approach, arguing that it reflects confusion over regulatory interpretations.

American politician and former D.O.G.E co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy also weighed in on the case, challenging the move to go after the developers of code as opposed to individual bad actors. Against this backdrop, Storm’s case has also raised alarm among developers and digital rights advocates. They fear that it could set a dangerous precedent for open-source software creators.