An ArbitrumDAO Proposal to Donate $1.28 Million to Tornado Cash Developers’ Legal Defense Deleted
An ArbitrumDAO proposal to donate up to $1.28 million in cryptocurrency toward the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev has been deleted by its author. Token holders expressed concerns about potential legal risks associated with such a donation.
The proposal, published on Wednesday by Arbitrum contributor ImmutableLawyer, outlined a plan to pledge between 200,000 and 600,000 ARB (equivalent to about $400,000-$1.2 million) to a legal defense fund for Storm and Pertsev. These developers are currently facing criminal charges for their involvement with Tornado Cash, a smart contract protocol that enhances privacy by making crypto transactions on Ethereum difficult to trace.
However, the proposal was no longer visible on Arbitrum’s discourse forum as of Friday evening. An Arbitrum representative confirmed that the author requested its removal.
An Alternate Approach?
Although the original proposal was deleted, members of ArbitrumDAO are still exploring alternative methods of financing Storm and Pertsev’s legal battles. One possibility is sending funds to Coin Center, a non-profit organization focused on crypto policy.
A new version of the proposal is expected to appear on ArbitrumDAO’s forum later this week.
Support from DeFi Community
Since their arrests, Storm and Pertsev have received significant support from proponents of decentralized finance (DeFi). This sector of the crypto industry champions ideas of financial freedom similar to those associated with Tornado Cash and its developers.
Potential Legal Risks
It remains uncertain whether the Arbitrum community would face legal risks by making a substantial donation to Storm and Pertsev. Last month, GoFundMe shut down a crowdfunding campaign for Storm’s legal aid, citing a clause in its terms of service that allows it to remove petitions deemed “unacceptable or objectionable” or that pose any form of harm or liability.
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