Roman Storm | Crypto

Already convicted of one felony charge and facing a possible retrial on two others, the Tornado Cash co-founder’s future is uncertain. More than 65 cryptocurrency and blockchain companies and advocacy groups have called on US President Donald Trump to step in as federal prosecutors may be preparing to retry Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm. In a letter to Trump dated Thursday and shared with Cointelegraph, advocacy organizations including the Solana Policy Institute, Blockchain Association and DeFi Education Fund, among others, made several requests regarding crypto-related policies.  The groups asked Trump to direct the IRS and US Treasury to clarify tax policy on digital assets, protect DeFi from regulators and encourage regulatory clarity through financial regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Read more

Current laws in the United States do not explicitly protect open source software developers and create the risk of retroactive prosecution. Roman Storm, a developer of the Tornado Cash privacy-preserving protocol, asked the open source software community whether they are concerned with being retroactively prosecuted by the US Department of Justice for developing decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. Storm asked DeFi developers: “How can you be so sure you won’t be charged by the DOJ as a money service business for building a non-custodial protocol?”  The DOJ could prosecute a case, arguing that any decentralized, non-custodial service should have been developed as a custodial service, as it did in the case against him, Storm added, citing his recent motion for acquittal, which was filed on September 30. Read more

Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm asks a US judge to dismiss his conviction, arguing that prosecutors failed to prove his intent to help bad actors. Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, has asked a US federal judge to acquit him of his sole conviction for unlicensed money transmission and the jury’s hung counts for money laundering and sanctions violations, arguing prosecutors failed to prove he intended to help bad actors misuse the crypto mixer. According to legal documents filed on Sept. 30 to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and reviewed by Cointelegraph, Storm’s defense argued prosecutors failed to prove he intended to help bad actors use Tornado Cash. This, according to the defense, would nullify the grounds for his conviction based on negligent inaction. “Storm and bad actors was a claim that he knew they were using Tornado Cash and failed to take sufficient measures to stop them. This is a negligence theory,” the motion states. Read more

Though a Justice Department official did not mention the Tornado Cash developer by name, he made many general references to enforcement cases involving similar allegations. Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, found guilty on one felony count in August, may be closer to avoiding a possible retrial on additional charges following a statement from a Justice Department official. Speaking at a Thursday summit in Wyoming organized by the cryptocurrency advocacy organization American Innovation Project, Matthew Galeotti, the acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s criminal division, suggested that the department would be changing its approach to certain enforcement cases involving crypto and blockchain. The DOJ official said his remarks were to offer clarity following an April memo from US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, titled “Ending Regulation by Prosecution.” Read more

Legal experts say Roman Storm’s Tornado Cash conviction underscores the ongoing clash between privacy and security, echoing past encryption fights. Roman Storms conviction over Tornado Cash has sparked a debate about whether US authorities are narrowing crypto privacy rights despite the White Houses recent report emphasizing the importance of self-custody and individual freedoms. The case has drawn comparisons to earlier battles over Silk Road, raising questions about criminal intent, control of immutable smart contracts and whether privacy itself can ever outweigh security concerns. Meanwhile, the White House is pushing for a clear taxonomy of digital assets commodity or security highlighting how unresolved definitions and liability standards continue to shape US crypto policy discussions. To explore the legal implications of Storms conviction and the broader policy context, Magazine spoke with Joshua Chu of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, Yuriy Brisov of UK law firm Digital & Analogue Partners and Charlyn H...

Legal experts say Roman Storm’s Tornado Cash conviction underscores the ongoing clash between privacy and security, echoing past encryption fights. Roman Storms conviction over Tornado Cash has sparked a debate about whether US authorities are narrowing crypto privacy rights despite the White Houses recent report emphasizing the importance of self-custody and individual freedoms. The case has drawn comparisons to earlier battles over Silk Road, raising questions about criminal intent, control of immutable smart contracts and whether privacy itself can ever outweigh security concerns. Meanwhile, the White House is pushing for a clear taxonomy of digital assets commodity or security highlighting how unresolved definitions and liability standards continue to shape US crypto policy discussions. To explore the legal implications of Storms conviction and the broader policy context, Magazine spoke with Joshua Chu of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, Yuriy Brisov of UK law firm Digital & Analogue Partners and Charlyn H...

Federico Carrone, an Ethereum core developer, pledged $500,000 to the Tornado Cash co-founder’s legal fund after being detained in Turkey over alleged links to a privacy protocol. Ethereum core developer Federico Carrone said that he would contribute $500,000 to Roman Storm’s legal fund amid the Tornado Cash co-founder facing a potential retrial in New York. In a Monday X post, Carrone said his experience in Turkey led to the decision to increase his donation to Storm from $50,000 to $500,000. The developer reported that he had been detained by Turkish authorities for about 24 hours over alleged links to an Ethereum privacy protocol. “[A]fter what happened to me, I need to take a clear position,” said Carrone, adding: “I understand that the [Ethereum Foundation] will be matching donations up to another $500K for Roman Storm’s defense, which means our contribution can have double the impact. Our team is currently moving money to execute the transaction.” Read more

Roman Storm’s defense and U.S. prosecutors have set deadlines for post-trial motions following the Tornado Cash developer’s partial mistrial. The schedule outlines filings through November as questions over possible retrials remain. The post Roman Storm to File Post-Trial Motions by Sept. 30; Retrial Scope at Stake appeared first on Cryptonews.

After a New York jury found the Tornado Cash co-founder guilty of one of three charges he had been facing, US authorities still have the option of filing for a retrial. Roman Storm’s legal team and US prosecutors have agreed to extend procedural deadlines that could affect retrying the Tornado Cash co-founder on conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions. In a Monday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Judge Katherine Failla approved a schedule agreed upon by Storm’s lawyers and the US government that will push the start of any potential retrial. Though prosecutors did not suggest whether they intended to retry Storm on the two felony charges, any scheduling on the matter would likely be pushed to later in 2025 beyond the 70-day deadline following “the conclusion of the initial trial.” Read more

Court documents showed there was at least one 90-year-old, and some people had “set in stone” their opinions about the Tornado Cash co-founder’s criminal charges. A 12-person jury, including a member who celebrated her 90th birthday, deliberated this week in the complex case of Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash. They convicted Storm on one count of running an unlicensed money transmitting business, while remaining unable to reach a decision on other charges. According to court documents released on Thursday by Judge Katherine Failla, jurors in the Storm case sent several requests for information before declaring they were deadlocked on two of the charges. Among the letters to the judge were requests for transcripts of the testimony of several witnesses, clarification on what led to the indictment, and a specific query on the wallets included in North Korean sanctions. Read more

Donations to the embattled software developer increased after Wednesday’s partial verdict and the possibility of a retrial. Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s legal defense fund is seeing an influx of donations as the software creator’s defense team preps for a possible retrial on charges of money laundering and sanctions violations. The Ethereum Foundation on Thursday said it will match up to $500,000 in donations to Storm’s defense fund. The jury in Storm’s trial was deadlocked — unable to reach a unanimous verdict — on two of the three counts against him, finding the developer guilty of running an unlicensed money transmitter. “Mistrials by hung juries do not trigger double jeopardy, so the defendant can be tried again,” Brandon Ferrick, general counsel at Douro Labs, told Cointelegraph.  Read more

Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s conviction misapplies money transmitter laws, crypto industry group says. The conviction of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm could set a “dangerous” precedent for developers and privacy, legal observers in the crypto space say. Storm was found guilty of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business on Wednesday, Aug. 6. The crime carries a maximum sentence of five years. The jury could not reach a consensus on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Federal prosecutors could still retry him on these two charges.  While Storm is yet to face sentencing, other crypto-related cases, including former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and OneCoin co-founder Karl Greenwood, were tried and found guilty in the same district and ended up serving prison time.  Read more

Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm faces decades in prison if prosecutors retry deadlocked charges in a high-profile case.

From teaching himself how to code to working odd jobs in the United States after emigrating, Roman Storm’s story is anything but typical. Roman Storm, the Tornado Cash co-founder and developer, found an interest in computer software at a young age after his parents bought him a personal computer. Now, at 36 years old, he holds a guilty verdict for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, issued by a jury on Wednesday. He remains in limbo as prosecutors could still retry him on two additional felony counts: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Storm has always been drawn to “the more technical side of things,” he said on a podcast in early July, just before his trial began in a New York district court. He spent time playing video games and teaching himself how computer programs and software worked. Read more

Roman Storm's trial verdict leaves the door open for US prosecutors to retry the Tornado Cash developer, attorneys said. The US government can still retry Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm on counts of money laundering and violating sanctions due to a hung jury, according to attorneys. “The Department of Justice (DOJ) will decide in the coming days if it wants to retry those charges in a new trial,” Jake Chervinsky, chief legal officer at venture capital firm Variant Fund, wrote on X. Storm was convicted on one felony count for his involvement with Tornado Cash on Wednesday. The jury found him guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Read more

A Manhattan federal jury found Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm guilty of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. As Inner City Press reported on August 6, the jury returned a mixed verdict by finding Storm not guilty of sanctions evasion under IEEPA, and unable to reach a unanimous verdict on money laundering conspiracy. […] The post Jury convicts Roman Storm on unlicensed money transmission; hung on laundering, not guilty on sanctions appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The Roman Storm trial has hit a snag after four days of jury deliberations, with jurors informing the court that they remain deadlocked on certain charges, according to an Aug. 6 court reporting from Inner City Press. Judge Katherine Polk Failla revealed that the jury had submitted a note stating some members were firmly set […] The post Jurors deadlocked in Roman Storm trial over Tornado Cash allegations appeared first on CryptoSlate.

An intriguing twist in the trial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm emerged after one juror reportedly requested time off to attend her mother’s birthday celebration. On Aug. 4, Inner City Press shared updates from the courtroom, revealing that the juror, identified as “Ms. Nelson,” had asked for a break from deliberations on Aug. 5. […] The post Birthday plans clash with Tornado Cash’s Roman Storm trial deliberations appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Reporting from the New York courtroom suggested that the Tornado Cash developer could wrap up his defense in a few days, but whether he would take the stand was still unclear. Defense attorneys representing Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm will reportedly rest their case sometime next week, sending the matter to the jury. According to reporting from Inner City Press on Friday, Judge Katherine Failla said she expected to hear closing statements from prosecutors and Storm’s legal team on Tuesday or Wednesday. The timeline gives the Tornado Cash co-founder roughly five days to present his defense in court. Whether Storm intends to take the stand in his own defense was unclear as of Friday. Before his trial started, the Tornado Cash co-founder gave an interview in which he said he “may or may not” testify.  Read more

After about two weeks of hearing from US government witnesses, Roman Storm’s legal team called Preston Van Loon to the stand to kick off its defense case. Prosecutors in the criminal trial of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm rested their case on Thursday, opening the door for defense counsel to call an Ethereum core developer as its first witness.  According to reporting by Inner City Press on Thursday from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ethereum core developer Preston Van Loon testified in Storm’s defense case, which is expected to last about a week. The developer reportedly described Tornado Cash as a “privacy tool for Ethereum” and said he had used the mixing service four times to send a combined 43 Ether (ETH) in 2019 or 2020, citing safety concerns. “If [hackers] know the scope of my assets I can become a target,” said Van Loon, according to reporting from the courtroom. Read more