The Ethereum Foundation has added a $500,000 donation to Roman Storm's defense fund, bringing the total to $1.25 million. David Hoffman from Bankless is urging Solana to take a stand. (Background: The founder of Tornado Cash was convicted of 'unlicensed money transmission'; is this penalty fair?) (Context: The U.S. Department of Justice has ruled that Roman Storm, the founder of Tornado Cash, is guilty of 'unlicensed money transmission', and the crypto community is collectively supporting him.) Ethereum Foundation's co-executive director, Wang Xiaowei, posted on the X platform, announcing an additional $500,000 donation to the legal defense fund of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, bringing the Ethereum Foundation's support for this case to at least $1.25 million. The Ethereum Foundation's increase in funding for Roman Storm comes after Tornado Cash was accused of facilitating over $1 billion in illegal money laundering, leading to Storm's conviction for 'conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business' by a Manhattan jury, with a maximum sentence of five years. The latest funding from the Ethereum Foundation continues the commitment of a $750,000 matching donation made last year, aimed at ensuring Storm can hire expert witnesses and maintain resources for his appeal. Wang Xiaowei stated: We stand with the community to ensure that open-source developers have a fair opportunity for defense. The Foundation's actions are seen as a substantial endorsement of the rights of open-source privacy tools and developers. According to Cointelegraph, donations from the crypto community have also poured in, raising millions for Storm. Bankless: Does Solana need to take a stand? Bankless co-founder David Hoffman replied on X: We are pleased to see the Solana community standing up against the U.S. Department of Justice to protect smart contract developers in front of the (money transmission law) for the benefit of all crypto pursuits. The implication is that the Solana Foundation has not initiated donations or support and has not directly used foundation funds to donate to Storm. The verdict has not been fully finalized. The jury is divided on the more serious charges of 'conspiracy to commit money laundering' and 'conspiracy to violate financial sanctions', resulting in a mistrial, and the prosecution retains the right to retry the case. The focus of the case is: How much responsibility do developers bear when open-source code is misused? The prosecution argues that Storm was aware and chose not to modify the code to prevent illegal use; Storm claims he only provided tools and was not involved in the flow of funds. For every user involved in decentralized finance, the Storm case serves as a reminder that regulators in various countries need clearer boundaries between encouraging blockchain innovation and safeguarding financial order. The subsequent sentencing and whether the charges in the mistrial will be retried will affect global DeFi and privacy technology investments, as well as the prospects for developers. Related reports: Anthropic misused 7 million books to train Claude, facing trillion-dollar-level copyright lawsuits! The frantic run of AI giants and legal boundaries. AI privacy collapse 'ChatGPT conversations' exposed before the law; Altman: I'm afraid to input personal data, and it's hard to know who will access the information. Republicans accuse 'Powell of perjury' in the $2.5 billion Fed decoration case; did Trump find a legal loophole to change the Fed's leadership? "The Ethereum Foundation donates another $500,000 to Tornado founder; Bankless: What about the Solana community?" This article was first published on BlockTempo (the most influential blockchain news media).

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