Ongoing debatessurface regarding the legal proceedings of Roman Storm, one of Tornado Cash's co-founders.
In a landmark case for the cryptocurrency industry, Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, was found guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business in August 2025. However, the jury deadlocked on the two more serious charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions, resulting in a partial mistrial on those counts.
The trial, which has been a significant case in the legal history of cryptocurrencies, revolves around Tornado Cash, a decentralized Ethereum protocol designed to preserve financial privacy through the mixing of digital assets. The protocol does not hold users' funds and does not meet the legal definition of a money services business, according to FinCEN documents.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been relentless in its pursuit of Roman Storm, with the judicial process against him continuing despite his plea of not guilty. The DOJ maintains its main accusation against Storm, and the trial is scheduled for July 14, 2025.
The charges against Tornado Cash were lifted by a U.S. court in March of this year. The court ruling recognized the complexity of applying traditional regulations to decentralized technologies in the crypto ecosystem and established that immutable smart contracts cannot be considered property subject to sanctions. This ruling has set a precedent that limits the government's ability to apply traditional economic sanctions to decentralized technologies.
The case against Roman Storm could set key legal precedents for the responsibility of developers in the world of decentralized technology. Storm's defense argues that developing and publishing open-source software does not constitute a crime. However, the prosecution argues that Roman Storm and other Tornado Cash creators can be held responsible for any illicit use of the platform by third parties.
Recent official statements suggest a possible shift in DOJ policy on prosecuting software developers, emphasizing that writing code without intent to facilitate crime should not be criminal. Despite this, the U.S. Department of Justice has indicated it might pursue a retrial on the unresolved charges against Storm.
As of August 2025, Storm faces conviction on the unlicensed money transmitting conspiracy but not yet on money laundering or sanctions conspiracy charges, which ended in a partial mistrial. Roman Storm remains free on bail pending sentencing; the judge denied remand despite prosecution requests citing immigration concerns and ties to Russia.
[1] CoinDesk. (2025). Roman Storm Found Guilty of Operating Unlicensed Money Transmission Business. [online] Available at: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/08/10/roman-storm-found-guilty-of-operating-unlicensed-money-transmission-business/
[2] Decrypt.co. (2025). Roman Storm Found Guilty of Operating Unlicensed Money Transmission Business. [online] Available at: https://decrypt.co/81502/roman-storm-found-guilty-of-operating-unlicensed-money-transmission-business
[3] The Block Crypto. (2025). Roman Storm Found Guilty of Operating Unlicensed Money Transmission Business. [online] Available at: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/90331/roman-storm-found-guilty-of-operating-unlicensed-money-transmission-business
[4] The Verge. (2025). Roman Storm Found Guilty of Operating Unlicensed Money Transmission Business. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2025/8/10/21304664/roman-storm-tornado-cash-crypto-mixer-found-guilty-unlicensed-money-transmission-business
[5] Cointelegraph. (2025). DOJ May Shift Policy on Prosecuting Software Developers After Tornado Cash Case. [online] Available at: https://cointelegraph.com/news/doj-may-shift-policy-on-prosecuting-software-developers-after-tornado-cash-case
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