A group of cryptocurrency and confidentiality enthusiasts is currently organizing a public outcry in Amsterdam’s most important square known as the Dam. Their vexation is against the authorities in the Netherlands for apprehending the initiator of Tornado Cash, Alexey Pertsev. Following an indictment by the United States government over the use of Tornado Cash for the concealment of illegally gotten money, for some high officials in North Korea, Pertsev was captured.
The agitators numbering about 50 are being coordinated by Pertsev’s wife, and have disagreed with the Dutch government, over the claim that Tornado Cash made abnormal proceeds from the deals traced to it. They are of the view that their acquaintance should not be blamed for pursuing his legitimate business in spite of how it is misused afterward.
Likely Implication for the Open-Source Market
Criminal charges are yet to be filed against the Tornado Cash founder but he has been taken into custody for questioning, over his role in building the protocol according to an associate of his, Oxorio who helped establish Petr Korolev. Oxorio’s worries are about Pertsev’s safety, as well as the fact that the wife has not been able to physically access him for two weeks. There is also the concern that the outcome of the ongoing investigation could have negative consequences for the open-source market if eventually Pertsev is pronounced guilty, and this has led to the creation of a telegram platform where over 1,500 petitioners have registered their opposition to the arrest.
