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Four Russian nationals have been indicted for money laundering and operating unlicensed cryptocurrency mixers Blender.io and Sinbad.io, following Blender's relaunch after sanctions. The indictment highlights significant transactions linked to illegal activities, raising concerns about jurisdiction and the implications for privacy in cryptocurrency. Legal experts suggest the case reflects a broader trend of prosecuting mixer founders, echoing previous actions against Tornado Cash.
Vitalik Buterin has earned $139,000 by selling free memecoins, including DOG, ESTEE, and DINU, for Ethereum and USDC. He has a history of donating proceeds from such sales to charity, previously donating 360.16 ETH from a $2.78 million profit in 2022. Recently, he donated 50 ETH to support Roman Storm's legal defense fund amid ongoing legal challenges.
As 2025 begins, several high-profile cryptocurrency criminals are spending their first New Year in prison. Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, was sentenced to 25 years, while Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Pertsev received over five years for money laundering. Other notable figures include IcomTech founder David Carmona, sentenced to 10 years, and Bitfinex money launderers Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, with Morgan set to report to prison later this month.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has initiated legal action against Binance Australia Derivatives for allegedly misclassifying over 500 retail clients as wholesale investors, thereby denying them essential consumer protections. Meanwhile, Interpol has issued a Red Notice for Hex founder Richard Heart, wanted for alleged tax fraud and assault. In South Korea, lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk faces a six-month jail sentence for failing to report his full cryptocurrency holdings, reportedly concealing significant assets.
Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, has filed a motion to dismiss criminal charges against him, citing a recent Fifth Circuit Court ruling that deemed sanctions on the platform's smart contracts unlawful. His defense argues that he had no control over these autonomous contracts, which undermines the government's case related to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Storm's legal team contends that the nature of the smart contracts absolves him of liability for money laundering and unlicensed money transmission charges, asserting that the government's interpretation of the law violates due process.
Irfan Shaik, founder of Interstate, proposes that regulators could target Ethereum's validators to enforce compliance, noting that major builders have censored transactions. Meanwhile, Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm seeks to dismiss charges after a Fifth Circuit ruling deemed sanctions against immutable smart contracts illegal, emphasizing that developers cannot control their use. This ruling has sparked optimism among privacy advocates and decentralized protocol supporters.
Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, has requested a federal judge to dismiss his criminal charges following a Fifth Circuit Appeals Court ruling that deemed sanctions against the platform's smart contracts unlawful. Storm argues that the court's opinion undermines the charges of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, asserting that the smart contracts are not property of any foreign entity and cannot be sanctioned. He also contends that Tornado Cash is not a financial institution, further challenging the charges of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and money laundering conspiracy.
The Stanford Blockchain Club has criticized the DOJ's prosecution of Tornado Cash developers, arguing that the use of outdated federal money transmission laws is an overreach. Their report contends that the statute fails to address the complexities of decentralized protocols and warns against executive overreach that could stifle innovation. The case underscores the ongoing debate over financial privacy and the potential misuse of emerging technologies.
In late November 2024, a US court lifted OFAC sanctions against Tornado Cash, a decentralized mixer protocol, while co-founder Roman Storm faces serious criminal charges, including money laundering. The court ruled that immutable smart contracts are not classified as "property," challenging regulatory frameworks and highlighting the need for updated approaches to blockchain technology. Despite ongoing legal issues, Tornado Cash continues to gain traction in the decentralized finance space.
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