Odaily Planet Daily reported that the Solana Policy Institute announced that it has donated $500,000 to the legal defense fund of Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev. The two were found guilty in a case involving a cryptocurrency mixer and face prison sentences. Pertsev had previously been sentenced to 64 months in prison in the Netherlands for assisting in the laundering of $1.2 billion. Storm was found guilty of unlicensed money transmission in New York this month, but the jury did not reach a consensus on the money laundering and sanctions charges. Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine said that if developers are prosecuted because neutral tools are abused by others, it will have a chilling effect on the software development industry. The organization also co-signed an open letter from more than 100 crypto companies, calling on legislators to protect the rights of developers in the regulatory framework. (TheBlock)

Odaily News Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith announced that she will officially step down as CEO on May 16 and join the Solana Policy Institute on May 19 as president of the newly established organization.
Kristin said that since becoming the first employee of the Blockchain Association, she has witnessed and promoted the organization's growth from a small advocacy team to an important force in Washington, DC and beyond. During her tenure, the association played a key role in promoting compliance supervision and policy dialogue in the crypto industry.
The Blockchain Association board of directors has started the selection process for a successor. Kristin emphasized that this transition does not mean leaving the crypto industry, but continuing to support the industry development with a new perspective.