Tornado Cash’s Alexey Pertsev Released After Nine Months To Focus on Appeal

• Tornado Cash founder Alexey Pertsev is out of pretrial detention.
• Pertsev faces charges of facilitating over $1 billion in money laundering.
• A U.S. court ruled that Tornado Cash’s smart contracts are not “property,” but legal experts stress it doesn’t absolve the founders from other charges.

Alexey Pertsev, the developer behind the controversial crypto-mixing platform Tornado Cash, has been released from pretrial detention after spending nine months in a Dutch prison.

Authorities detained Pertsev following allegations that his platform facilitated the laundering of over $1 billion in cryptocurrency.

Although granted conditional release, Pertsev will remain under electronic monitoring as he prepares for his legal appeal.

A Glimmer of Freedom

Pertsev announced his release on social media, posting on X, “I will be free! It is not real freedom, but it is better than prison.”

The Dutch court officially suspended his pretrial detention on Feb. 7, allowing him to continue his legal fight from outside the confines of a jail cell.

Although he now has the chance to work on his appeal, Pertsev remains under surveillance.

Pertsev has expressed his determination to fight the charges and seek justice. “I will take this freedom to work on my appeal and fight for justice,” he wrote.

Ongoing Legal Struggles

Pertsev’s legal journey has been tumultuous, with the courts rejecting several appeals and requests for bail.

His defense team has argued that he should not be held responsible for third parties’ illicit use of Tornado Cash.

Despite these arguments, the court has consistently rejected his claims, stating that Pertsev and his team should have taken stronger measures to prevent illegal activities on their platform.

The charges against Pertsev could result in up to 64 months in prison. The case has attracted significant attention, with high-profile figures such as Vitalik Buterin and Edward Snowden voicing support for Pertsev and urging political leaders, including President Donald Trump, to intervene.

Pertsev’s colleague, Roman Storm, faces a similar legal battle in the United States. Like Pertsev, Storm faces accusations of laundering over $1 billion through Tornado Cash.

Storm is currently out on a $2 million bond and will face trial in April.

Tornado Cash Faces Legal Shifts

In late 2024, a U.S. federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. Treasury Department improperly sanctioned Tornado Cash. 

The court found that Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts—self-executing lines of code that facilitate privacy—do not qualify as “property” under existing law.

This ruling was a major win for privacy-focused technologies, which have been under increasing regulatory scrutiny.

However, legal experts caution that this decision does not necessarily absolve the founders of any wrongdoing.

“The ruling doesn’t absolve Tornado Cash of being a service,” said Bill Hughes, an attorney for Consensys. “It only establishes that the smart contracts weren’t property. The Department of Justice (DOJ) still alleges Storm knowingly operated a platform in violation of sanctions.”

As Pertsev and Storm continue to navigate their respective legal battles, the future of Tornado Cash—and its founders—remains uncertain.