Arbitrum DAO Proposal Aimed To Support Tornado Cash Developers Removed For Legal Reasons

Key Points:

• The Arbitrum DAO proposal aimed at donating to Tornado Cash developers was removed over legal concerns.
• Tornado Cash founders face charges; legal defense funding is sought.
• Supporters argue that Tornado Cash provides only software for decentralized money transfers, but its crackdown threatens developers working on privacy-focused applications.

The Block has disclosed that the Arbitrum community has withdrawn a proposal to Tornado Cash developers, citing potential legal risks.

Arbitrum DAO Proposal Withdrawn: Legal Concerns Halt Donation To Tornado Cash Developers

The Arbitrum DAO proposal is being spearheaded by DK, an anonymous delegate who put forth a proposal on March 7, advocating for developers to have strong legal protection.

The initial Arbitrum DAO proposal aimed to contribute 1.28 million ARB to Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev for their legal defense against criminal charges. However, concerns raised by token holders regarding the legal ramifications led to the deletion of the proposal by its author.

Tornado Cash Crackdown Raises Concerns

Tornado Cash and its founders face accusations of laundering over $1 billion in illicit funds, including those associated with the Lazarus Group hacking organization.

The US authorities have levied charges of money laundering, violating sanctions, and running an unlicensed money transfer business against the developers. Pertsev was apprehended in August 2022 in the Netherlands, while Storm was detained by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in August 2023. However, Roman Semenov, the third co-founder, remains at large.

Supporters of Tornado Cash argue that the platform merely offers software for decentralized money transfers and is not directly involved in financial transactions. The crackdown on Tornado Cash is perceived as a broader threat to developers working on privacy-focused applications.