Is writing code illegal? Can you sing it instead? YouTuber sings Tornado Cash code: "This Song Is Illegal"

YouTube creator "Jonathan Mann" has been creating a song every day for over ten years. On the 18th, he wrote a song titled "This Song Is Illegal Tornado Cash Code" in protest of the recent U.S. regulatory sanctions on the DeFi mixing protocol Tornado Cash. He expressed his dissent towards the controversy of "writing code is illegal" by singing out parts of the code.

Background Summary

Tornado Cash is an Ethereum mixing protocol used to conceal the flow of funds on the blockchain, including funds from cybersecurity incidents involving North Korean hackers. In August, it was sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), targeting addresses and websites related to the protocol. Cryptocurrency entities such as USDC issuer Circle, wallet providers, and node infrastructure providers have cooperated. Alexey Pertsev, a code contributor to Tornado Cash in the Netherlands, was even arrested under the accusation of facilitating money laundering.

The arrest of the code developer has sparked criticism from many industry insiders who believe it violates the freedom of speech granted by the constitution.

Here Are the Lyrics, Let's Sing Together

More Crypto Community Creations: Reciting Ethereum Testnet Merge Comments

Jonathan Mann even sang all the comments from the Ethereum testnet Goerli merge:

All Song Creations Turned into NFTs

Jonathan Mann's Song a day website has turned all past creations into NFTs, which people can bid on. For example, the NFT of "This Song Violates Tornado Cash Code" was eventually sold for 2.42 ETH. It also has a secondary market on OpenSea where fans can collect his past works.