Warmly at the end of the year, Vitalik Buterin donated 50 ETH (~170,000 USD) to Alexey Pertsev. This is a practical move to help Alexey continue his appeal after his 64-month prison sentence for his role in developing Tornado Cash.

Arrested since 2022, Alexey faces charges related to laundering $1.2 billion through Tornado Cash - a crypto "mixer" that was created to protect user privacy, but has been abused for money laundering purposes. Alexey's appeal effort received great support from the community, including Vitalik.

The actions of the founder of Ethereum are not only financial support but also affirming his commitment to protecting freedom and privacy - core values ​​of blockchain.