Tornado Cash Developer To Be Released Next Week

Alexey Pertsev, a developer of the sanctioned privacy mixer Tornado Cash, will be released from jail on April 26 but will remain under house arrest until his trial, according to CryptoCanal founder Eléonore Blanc.

Pertsev will remain under electronic surveillance from the confines of his home and will have to wear an ankle monitor.

Tornado Cash’s TORN governance token briefly spiked by 25% on the news.

Pertsev was arrested in August by Dutch authorities on money laundering charges, just days after sanctions were levied against Tornado Cash by the U.S. Treasury Department. He has remained in custody for over nine months.

In November, Dutch authorities refused to release Pertsev as they deemed him a flight risk and alluded that Pertsev could potentially have hidden assets that had not yet been frozen.

The crypto community and privacy advocates welcomed the news of Pertsev’s upcoming release.

“Still sickening that the dude had to sit in jail for months to finally go “free.” Writing code and ideas shouldn’t be punishable,” one user commented.

CULT DAO donated $25,000 towards funding Pertsev’s legal defence.

Prosecutors argued that Pertsev could potentially start a new privacy mixer and, therefore, should remain detained, according to Bitcoin developer Sjors Provoost.

Once released, Pertsev will have less than a month to prepare for his trial, which is set to begin on May 24.