Jury Deadlocks on Tornado Cash Founder's Money Laundering Charge After Conviction on Unlicensed Business Charge

The trial of Roman Storm, co-founder of the Ethereum-based cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, ended in a partial mistrial after a federal jury in Manhattan could not reach a unanimous decision on the most serious charges, including conspiracy to launder funds obtained from a sanctioned North Korean hacking group [1]. Storm was, however, convicted on one count—conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmittal business, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison [2]. The deadlock on the money laundering charge leaves the case in a legal limbo, with the presiding judge, Katherine Polk Failla, now tasked with deciding whether to retry the unresolved counts or to dismiss them [3].

Storm’s defense has consistently argued that Tornado Cash was a decentralized tool designed to enhance user privacy and not specifically engineered to facilitate illegal activity [4]. In contrast, the U.S. Department of Justice has maintained that the mixer was routinely used to obscure the origins of stolen funds, making it a key tool for evading sanctions and money laundering [5]. The inability of the jury to reach consensus on the more serious charges suggests the difficulty of applying traditional legal frameworks to decentralized technologies, where control is often distributed and intent is hard to establish.

The case has broader implications for the cryptocurrency industry, particularly in the DeFi space. It highlights the regulatory challenges in distinguishing between tools that protect privacy and those that enable illicit activity. The conviction on the unlicensed business charge signals the U.S. government’s willingness to enforce financial regulations on crypto services but also exposes the legal uncertainty around prosecuting individuals for technologies with legitimate use cases [6]. The mixed outcome may set a precedent for how courts handle similar cases, especially as regulators continue to seek clearer definitions of liability in decentralized environments.

The mixed verdict also raises questions about the future of crypto privacy protocols. Tornado Cash, which has historically served as a key infrastructure for Ethereum-based anonymity, has already faced regulatory scrutiny, including sanctions from OFAC. Past enforcement actions have led to short-term volatility in the value of associated governance tokens [7]. While immediate market reactions to the partial mistrial were minimal, historical trends suggest that renewed regulatory pressure could lead to further price fluctuations in the cryptocurrency space [8].

As the case moves forward, the court’s next decision—whether to retry the unresolved charges or to dismiss them—will be closely watched by both the legal and financial sectors. The outcome may shape the regulatory approach to decentralized technologies and influence how governments balance innovation with public safety in the digital economy [9].

Source:

[1] Reuters, [https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-jury-deadlocks-tornado-cash-founders-money-laundering-charge-2025-08-06/](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-jury-deadlocks-tornado-cash-founders-money-laundering-charge-2025-08-06/)

[2] U.S., [https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-08-06/us-jury-deadlocks-on-tornado-cash-founders-money-laundering-charge](https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-08-06/us-jury-deadlocks-on-tornado-cash-founders-money-laundering-charge)

[3] CoinDesk, [https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/08/06/roman-storm-guilty-of-unlicensed-money-transmitting-conspiracy-in-partial-verdict](https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/08/06/roman-storm-guilty-of-unlicensed-money-transmitting-conspiracy-in-partial-verdict)

[4] Bitcoinist.com, [https://bitcoinist.com/mixed-verdict-for-tornado-cash-founder/](https://bitcoinist.com/mixed-verdict-for-tornado-cash-founder/)

[5] dlnews.com, [https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/storm-jurors-reach-split-verdict-in-criminal-trial/](https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/storm-jurors-reach-split-verdict-in-criminal-trial/)

[6] AInvest, [https://www.ainvest.com/news/roman-storm-convicted-tornado-cash-case-jury-deadlocks-major-charges-2508/](https://www.ainvest.com/news/roman-storm-convicted-tornado-cash-case-jury-deadlocks-major-charges-2508/)

[7] Business Insider, [https://www.businessinsider.com/tornado-cash-roman-storm-trial-partial-mistrial-2025-8](https://www.businessinsider.com/tornado-cash-roman-storm-trial-partial-mistrial-2025-8)

[8] MSN, [https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/jury-deadlocks-on-money-laundering-charge-against-founder-of-crypto-mixer-tornado-cash/ar-AA1K22YA?ocid=finance-verthp-feeds](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/jury-deadlocks-on-money-laundering-charge-against-founder-of-crypto-mixer-tornado-cash/ar-AA1K22YA?ocid=finance-verthp-feeds)

[9] Cointelegraph, [https://cointelegraph.com/news/tornado-cash-roman-storm-found-guilty-partial-verdict](https://cointelegraph.com/news/tornado-cash-roman-storm-found-guilty-partial-verdict)