Arbitrum DAO Withdraws $1.28M Tornado Cash Dev Donation Plan Due to Legal Risks
In Brief
Arbitrum DAO revoked its $1.28M donation proposal for Tornado Cash devs Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev amidst their ongoing legal battle.
Decentralized autonomous organization Arbitrum DAO, which oversees the ARB token, withdrew its proposal to donate $1.28 million in cryptocurrency to support Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev in their legal battle against criminal charges.
Token holders expressed concerns regarding potential legal risks associated with the proposed donation, leading to the withdrawal of the proposal.
According to the proposal that has since been removed, the funds were intended to be directed towards the crowd-funding campaign WeWantJusticeDAO, which manages the financial needs of Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev’s legal expenses, estimated at around $100,000 per month. The donated ARB tokens were planned to be stored on a fundraising platform focused on the cryptocurrency Juicebox.
However, members of ArbitrumDAO are currently exploring alternative methods to support the legal challenges the developers face. This includes the consideration of directing funds to Coin Center, a non-profit organization specializing in cryptocurrency policy. Moreover, it is anticipated that a revised version of the proposal will be presented on ArbitrumDAO’s forum later this week.
Tornado Cash Founders’ Legal Challenges
The proposal initially put forward by Arbitrum contributor Joseph Axisa, released last week, outlined a strategy to allocate a range of 200,000 to 600,000 ARB tokens (equivalent to approximately $400,000-$1.2 million) to establish a legal defense fund for Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev.
The developers currently face criminal charges initiated by the United States Department of Justice last year related to their involvement in creating software for Tornado Cash, a smart contract protocol designed to enhance the privacy of cryptocurrency transactions on the Ethereum network. Both Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev were subsequently arrested, while the third co-founder, Roman Semenov, remains at large.
Since their arrest, the developers have received significant support from decentralized finance (DeFi) proponents. However, certain organizations have also withdrawn funding from Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev. Recently, GoFundMe closed a crowd-funding request for Roman Storm’s legal assistance, referencing a clause in its terms of service that allows the platform to shut down petitions deemed “unacceptable or objectionable” or presenting “harm or liability of any type”.
After withdrawing the donation proposal by Arbitrum DAO due to legal concerns, its support for Tornado Cash developers remains fluid as the community explores alternative funding avenues.
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Alisa is a reporter for the Metaverse Post. She focuses on investments, AI, metaverse, and everything related to Web3. Alisa has a degree in Business of Art and expertise in Art & Tech. She has developed her passion for journalism through writing for VCs, notable crypto projects, and scientific writing. You can contact her at alisa@mpost.io
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Alisa is a reporter for the Metaverse Post. She focuses on investments, AI, metaverse, and everything related to Web3. Alisa has a degree in Business of Art and expertise in Art & Tech. She has developed her passion for journalism through writing for VCs, notable crypto projects, and scientific writing. You can contact her at alisa@mpost.io
