- Several crypto advocates have come forward to launch online petitions aimed at freeing Alexey Pertsev out of prison.
- Pertsev is a developer of the Tornado Cash app and was recently arrested on suspicions of fraud and asset confiscation.
The arrest of Alexey Pertsev, the developer associated with the infamous Tornado Mixer app has sparked intense protests in Amsterdam.
The protestors are demanding an early release of Pertsev, claiming that his arrest is equivalent to “putting constraints on the entire open source software segment.”
The protests have now evolved into online petitions and campaigns, aimed at releasing Pertsev out of custody and urging the crypto community to help safeguard the “fundamentals of cryptocurrency.”
Online Petitions Are Being Filed To Release Tornado Cash Developer Alexey Pertsev
The online petitions aimed at freeing developer Alexey Pertsev have recently crossed 2000 signatures. The petitions have also been launched to spread awareness among the crypto community and elucidate the fact that Pertsev’s arrest is detrimental to the future of open source software development
Developer Alexey Pertsev was arrested on August 10 in Amsterdam, two days after the US authorities imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash, a notorious crypto mixer app used extensively to obfuscate the track of stolen funds. Pertsev was arrested by the country’s Fiscal Information and Investigation Service on suspicion of “involvement in concealing criminal financial flows and facilitating money laundering.”
“Now, Alex is being accused of creating open-source code that was used by Tornado Cash, a project under investigation in the US and Europe. But a developer has no control whatsoever over how their open-source code is subsequently used…Therefore, the accusations against Alex threaten to kill the entire open-source software segment. ” the petition later adds.
The arrest later sparked intense protests in Amsterdam with over 50 protestors claiming that open source software publications shouldn’t be criminalized. The petition filed on change.org further propagates that Pertsev’s arrest has no direct link to Tornado Cash claiming that the developers have no control over how their “open source software is subsequently used.”
Another protestor and Web3 developer Naomi Schettini added how Pertsev can’t be held responsible for criminals who used Tornado Cash to execute illicit transactions and activities.
Launched in 2019, Tornado Cash is dubbed a non-custodial decentralized privacy solution built on Ethereum. The application was extensively used in obfuscating the track of funds stolen by hackers. The US authorities had recently imposed sanctions on the application, restricting its usage in the crypto community.