Decision to keep Tornado Cash developer in jail for 90 days sparks backlash

A judge ruled that the developer should remain in jail for 90 days pending charges and a court date.

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A judge in the Netherlands has ruled that Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev should remain in jail for an additional 90 days pending charges. Intrigued by the decision, the crypto community rallied to demand the release of the developer.

In a Tweet, crypto investo Ryan Adams claimed that the developer did something good for the public by writing the code for Tornado Cash. The community member went on to point out that "a few bad guys" decided to use Pertsev's code and now the developer must face the consequences.

In addition to Adams, cryptography researcher Jill Gunter also noted that there was not enough information regarding Pertsev's arrest. Gunter described the status of the charges as puzzling and called the situation a "scary problem".

In Amsterdam, demonstrators gathered to demand the release of the promoter. Chanting "open source is not a crime," protesters urged the government to catch the criminals, not the developers.

pic.twitter.com/xqTMlEXwK3

— sudo rm -rf --no-preserve-root / (@pcaversaccio) August 20, 2022

Cryptography professor Matthew Green also criticized Dutch police for their decision to arrest Pertsev. He said that while he has no idea what the developer did to deserve arrest, it appears the police don't either.

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