Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev has been released from prison custody in the Netherlands and placed under house arrest while he prepares his legal appeal. The court’s decision comes after Pertsev’s pretrial detention, which began in August 2022, was suspended on February 6.
Pertsev, who was charged in connection with the privacy-focused Tornado Cash protocol, now faces electronic monitoring as part of his release. In a social media post following the decision, Pertsev acknowledged the relief, saying, “It is not real freedom, but it is better than prison.”
His legal battle has drawn attention from privacy advocates, raising concerns about the implications for privacy-preserving technologies and blockchain developers. Many argue that Pertsev’s case sets a troubling precedent that could affect developers of decentralized and immutable code.
Pertsev’s legal troubles began when the Dutch authorities accused him of money laundering related to Tornado Cash, despite the fact that the protocol itself is designed to facilitate privacy and is controlled by no single individual. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, citing the use of the protocol for laundering illicit funds, including over $455 million reportedly stolen by the North Korean hacking group Lazarus.
In a significant turn of events, the US legal landscape has shifted. The US Fifth Circuit Appeals Court ruled in November 2024 that OFAC exceeded its authority by sanctioning Tornado Cash’s smart contracts, finding that the immutable code cannot be owned or sanctioned. In January 2025, a Texas court further overturned the sanctions, marking a significant victory for digital privacy advocates and raising questions about future regulatory policies on privacy tools.
Pertsev’s upcoming appeal will be a crucial moment in his case, potentially influencing the future of privacy technologies in both the Netherlands and the United States. As legal proceedings unfold, the outcome will likely have far-reaching implications for developers and the crypto industry as a whole.
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