TL;DR
- Vitalik Buterin publicly expressed his support for Roman Storm, stating that privacy should not be seen as opposed to security, but as an essential part of it.
- The Ethereum Foundation contributed funds to Storm’s legal defense and matched community donations, which have already surpassed $750,000.
- Buterin called for expanding the use of privacy tools to payments, credentials, and AI, claiming that protecting data strengthens, rather than weakens, security.
Vitalik Buterin once again spoke out about the importance of protecting privacy within the crypto ecosystem. This time, he did so in support of Roman Storm, one of the developers of Tornado Cash, who is facing charges in the United States over alleged regulatory violations related to the use of anonymity tools in cryptocurrency transactions.
Privacy and Security Are Not Opposing Forces
Buterin argued that privacy is not an obstacle to security, but a vital component to guarantee it. He explained that it is unacceptable to continue framing this matter as a trade-off between opposing values. For Vitalik, integrating systems that protect user confidentiality should be understood as a direct improvement to security, not as a risk.
Buterin and Ethereum Fund Roman Storm’s Legal Defense
For this reason, the Ethereum Foundation chose to financially support Roman Storm’s legal defense. In addition to making an institutional donation, the foundation matched the contributions made by the community, which have already exceeded $750,000. Concrete support is essential for developers working on solutions aimed at safeguarding users’ personal data.
Buterin also pointed out that an increasing number of public agencies and companies are using encrypted messaging tools without backdoors, such as Signal. Building on that growing acceptance, he argued that this same principle must extend to payment solutions, digital credentials, and artificial intelligence systems. Privacy, he insisted, must become a structural priority in those environments, and pursuing it does not weaken security — it strengthens it.
The debate over the legality of these services intensified following the legal actions against Tornado Cash and its creators. Buterin hopes his stance will send a clear message to developers: defending and improving privacy protocols is both legitimate and necessary
