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Tornado Cash Developer Alexey Pertsev Released From Jail to Prepare for Appeal

Last May, Pertsev was sentenced to 64 months in prison for money laundering.

By Oliver Knight|Edited by Sheldon Reback

Updated Feb 7, 2025, 2:14 p.m. Published Feb 7, 2025, 8:37 a.m.

What to know:

Pertsev was released Friday after a Dutch court suspended his detention on condition of his being electronically monitored.
He was sentenced to 64 months in prison in 2024.
He will now work on an appeal and "fight for justice," according to an X post.

Alexey Pertsev, the Tornado Cash developer found guilty of money laundering in 2024, was released from prison on Friday as he begins to prepare for an appeal, he said in a post on X.

Freedom is priceless, but my freedom cost a lot of money. My house arrest was only possible thanks to the work of lawyers, who were paid from your donations. My fight is not over yet and for a final and confident victory I still need your help. Please support our fight here… pic.twitter.com/WT1eWhXhAi
— Alexey Pertsev (@alex_pertsev) February 7, 2025

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The 31-year old Russian national was sentenced to 64 months in a Dutch prison last May after an indictment said Pertsev had "a habit of committing money laundering" and should have suspected illicit transactions on the platform.

Tornado Cash is a coin-mixing protocol that allows users to privately send tokens to another wallet. It achieves privacy by pooling funds together and shuffling them until the origin is unclear.

The protocol is sanctioned by the U.S. government, which alleges that Tornado Cash was being used by North Korean hackers Lazarus Group.

UPDATE (Feb. 7, 14:14 UTC): Updates headline and first paragraph to reflect Pertsev's release.

Tornado Cash Privacy

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