Tornado Cash was created in 2019 by Roman Semenov, Roman Storm, and Pavel Pertsev, offering privacy on the Ethereum blockchain. What began as a tool for financial freedom soon became a haven for criminals laundering billions in stolen crypto. In 2022, the U.S. sanctioned Tornado Cash, and one of its creators, Pavel Pertsev, was arrested in the Netherlands. What was meant to protect privacy had turned into a storm of controversy and questions.