Roman Storm Launches $1.5M Legal Fund as Tornado Cash Trial Enters Third Week

Generated by AI AgentCoin World
Monday, Jul 28, 2025 3:57 am ET1min read
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Aime RobotAime Summary

- Roman Storm, Tornado Cash co-founder, seeks $1.5M for legal costs as his New York trial enters week three, facing charges including money laundering and unlicensed business.

- Prosecutors allege Tornado Cash enabled $1B in illicit transactions, while Storm’s defense argues open-source code development should be protected under First Amendment rights.

- The case could redefine legal boundaries for DeFi, with critics warning a conviction might stifle innovation and supporters emphasizing privacy tools’ role in financial autonomy.

- Storm’s team highlights the protocol’s decentralized nature, asserting developers shouldn’t be liable for user actions, as the trial’s August 11 verdict looms with global regulatory implications.

Roman Storm, co-founder of the decentralized privacy protocol Tornado Cash, has initiated a $1.5 million fundraising campaign to cover mounting legal expenses as his trial in New York enters its third week. The trial, which began on July 14, accuses Storm of conspiracy to commit money laundering, sanctions violations, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Prosecutors allege that Tornado Cash, a tool designed to obscure cryptocurrency transaction trails, facilitated over $1 billion in illicit transactions, including funds linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group [1]. Storm has already raised $3.2 million toward a $5 million target, supported by the

Ethereum
Foundation and the broader crypto community [4].

The legal proceedings have introduced unexpected complexities, including the addition of new witnesses, pushing projected costs beyond the initial $3.5 million estimate [4]. Storm’s defense team argues that the prosecution’s case could criminalize open-source code development, violating First Amendment protections. They cite a 2019 FinCEN guidance stating anonymizing software developers are not required to register as money transmitters [3]. The defense emphasizes that Tornado Cash operates as a decentralized, non-custodial protocol whose smart contracts function autonomously, asserting developers should not be held liable for user actions [4].

The trial’s outcome carries significant implications for decentralized finance (DeFi) innovation. Prosecutors seek to demonstrate that Storm knowingly enabled illicit use of Tornado Cash without implementing safeguards, while the defense underscores the protocol’s immutability and lack of centralized control. This case follows the conviction of Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Pertsev in the Netherlands and the ongoing fugitive status of another co-founder, Roman Semenov. A verdict is expected by August 11 [5].

The crypto community’s financial support for Storm reflects broader debates over regulatory boundaries in DeFi. Supporters argue that privacy tools are critical for financial autonomy, while critics warn a conviction could stifle innovation. The legal battle highlights tensions between transparency mandates and blockchain’s decentralized ethos, with potential global regulatory ramifications [5].

Sources:

[1] [Roman Storm asks for $1.5M lifeline as Tornado Cash trial presses on] (https://cointelegraph.com/news/roman-storm-asks-more-donations-tornado-cash-case?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound)

[2] [Roman Storm asks for $1.5M lifeline as Tornado Cash trial presses on] (https://cointelegraph.com/news/roman-storm-asks-more-donations-tornado-cash-case?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound)

[3] [Roman Storm asks for $1.5M lifeline as Tornado Cash trial presses on] (https://cointelegraph.com/news/roman-storm-asks-more-donations-tornado-cash-case?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound)

[4] [Roman Storm asks for $1.5M lifeline as Tornado Cash trial presses on] (https://cointelegraph.com/news/roman-storm-asks-more-donations-tornado-cash-case?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound)

[5] [Roman Storm asks for $1.5M lifeline as Tornado Cash trial presses on] (https://cointelegraph.com/news/roman-storm-asks-more-donations-tornado-cash-case?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound)