Turkish police detained the developer upon arrival in Izmir, where he planned to meet with local builders and explore decentralized finance project opportunities.
The research, published under the name “Tutela,” demonstrated methods to deanonymize users of the privacy mixer rather than developing privacy features.
The developer stated:
“We never helped anyone engage in illegal activity, it was purely research on mixers and their properties. We didn’t develop privacy features, only code and a paper showing heuristics to deanonymize users.”
Friends and associates from the United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US, the European Union, Argentina, and representatives from the Catholic Church contacted senior Turkish officials to request the developer’s release.
He reported:
“There was a moment where I believe if a few of them didn’t intervene things might have gone sour.”
The intervention allowed him to retain his phone throughout the detention and avoid transfer to a holding facility pending formal charges.
Turkish attorneys representing the developer continue working on his defense despite his release.
The developer indicated he may return to Turkey to clear his name once legal proceedings advance, citing strong local connections and legal representation.
The case reflects broader tensions surrounding cryptocurrency privacy tools and developer liability.
The developer drew parallels to potential prosecution of software developers for downstream uses of their code, comparing the situation to hypothetically prosecuting Linux creator Linus Torvalds for military applications of the operating system.
“One of the more interesting and unreported downsides of the US’s approach to crypto is the impact it has on other countries and, thus, globally. Countries that often fall somewhere between incompetent, broken, and utterly corrupt.”
The MetaMask security lead and other crypto advocates have criticized the decision, claiming that open-source software developers can’t be held responsible for its usage.
