Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev is set to be released from prison on 7 February 2025 after a Dutch court suspended his pretrial detention. The move comes as Pertsev prepares to appeal his money laundering conviction, which has been a focal point in the ongoing debate over the legal responsibilities of open-source developers in the crypto space.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Pertsev acknowledged his upcoming release but emphasized that it does not mean full freedom. He will still be required to wear an electronic monitoring device as part of his conditional release.
“A Dutch court suspended my pretrial detention under the condition of electronic monitoring. This will give me a chance to work on my appeal and fight for justice,” he stated.
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Pertsev Has Been In Detention Since 2022
Pertsev has been in detention since August 2022, following his arrest in the Netherlands for allegedly facilitating illicit financial activities through Tornado Cash, a non-custodial crypto mixing protocol.
During his trial, he argued that he could not be held accountable for how people used the Tornado Cash platform. However, the court rejected this defense, ruling that he and the other Tornado Cash co-founders should have implemented stronger safeguards against criminal use.
In May 2023, a Dutch court convicted Pertsev of money laundering and sentenced him to five years and four months in prison. His legal team quickly filed an appeal, but he was repeatedly denied bail, most recently in July 2023.
With his upcoming release under electronic monitoring, he will now have the opportunity to work on his defense outside of prison.
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 on my appeal and fight for…
— Alexey Pertsev (@alex_pertsev) February 6, 2025
Pertsev’s case is closely linked to the broader legal crackdown on Tornado Cash and its founders. In August 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, two other Tornado Cash co-founders, with laundering over $1 billion in cryptocurrency through the protocol.
Semenov remains at large and is listed on the FBI’s most wanted list, while Storm is free on a $2 million bond and is set to stand trial in April.
The legal battle surrounding Tornado Cash began in August 2022, when the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the platform, effectively making its use illegal for U.S. citizens.
However, in a significant development, a U.S. court overturned the sanctions on January 21, 2024, signaling a potential shift in how regulators approach crypto privacy tools.
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Storm Denies Any Wrongdoing
Storm has strongly opposed the charges against him, arguing that he is being prosecuted for writing open-source code that enables private crypto transactions in a non-custodial manner.
In a January 22 post on X, he described the case as a “terrifying criminalization of privacy,” warning that it could set a dangerous precedent for software developers in the crypto industry.
The case has sparked concerns among crypto advocates and developers, with many viewing the prosecution as an attack on financial privacy and open-source innovation.
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