GoFundMe, the American crowdfunding platform, has decided to cancel a fundraiser that was set up to collect legal fees for Roman Storm, the co-founder of cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, and its developer, Alexey Pertsev.
Storm had requested community members to contribute funds for their legal battle against the United States authorities, who accused them of facilitating the bypass of U.S. sanctions. Although they started receiving donations, GoFundMe terminated the fundraiser on February 14th, citing a violation of their terms of service, specifically Term 22. According to GoFundMe, the Tornado Cash fundraiser could potentially expose the platform, its employees, or users to harm or liability.
As a result, many donors, including Ryan Adams of Bankless Ventures, had their contributions refunded. However, Adams has pledged to return his original donation of $10,000 to Storm using cryptocurrencies. GoFundMe has confirmed that the funds will be deposited back into the donor’s bank accounts within three to seven business days.
During its active period, the GoFundMe campaign for Tornado Cash managed to raise $30,000 in donations. Storm and Pertsev are aiming to collect $1.5 million to cover their legal expenses in the United States. Currently, they are relying on the crypto funding platform JuiceBox, where they have already collected 316.75 Ether (ETH).
The Tornado Cash community is questioning GoFundMe’s decision to cancel the fundraisers, as the platform has allowed similar campaigns in the past.
Storm and Pertsev are facing charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. However, they maintain their innocence in regards to all charges related to money laundering and violations of U.S. sanctions. Storm is currently out of jail on a $2 million bond but is restricted from traveling outside certain regions of New York, New Jersey, Washington, and California.