Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, issued a statement on Jan. 22 via X, expressing concerns about his ongoing legal battle. Storm described his prosecution as a “terrifying criminalization of privacy.” Tornado Cash is a non-custodial privacy protocol designed to facilitate private crypto transactions through open-source code.
Storm explained:
“I am being prosecuted for writing open-source code that enables private crypto transactions in a completely non-custodial manner […] The charges against me threaten to criminalize software development itself.”
Storm faces charges of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and sanctions evasion. He was arrested on Aug. 23, 2023, with his trial scheduled for April 14, 2025.
The case has already had widespread effects. Storm highlighted that developer Michael Lewellen recently filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) to address fears surrounding software development.
Lewellen’s lawsuit challenges the same DOJ reasoning used to prosecute Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet developers, raising concerns about the potential criminalization of software development.
Storm’s statement follows a favorable ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ordered the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to remove Tornado Cash-linked addresses from its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list.
The court noted that sanctioning the protocol does not prevent bad actors from using it, as smart contracts are autonomous, immutable, and cannot be controlled or altered. It also encouraged updating legislation to regulate crypto-mixers rather than restricting applications like Tornado Cash from functioning autonomously.
Earlier, on Nov. 26, the US Court of Appeals had ruled that the Treasury exceeded its authority by sanctioning Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts. Encouraged by these legal developments, Storm filed a motion on Dec. 20 to dismiss the criminal charges against him.
Support from Vitalik Buterin
Storm expressed gratitude to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin for supporting him and Alexey Pertsev, another Tornado Cash developer.
In a separate post, Buterin reaffirmed his support, emphasizing that Tornado Cash was built with his encouragement and that abandoning its developers would “violate basic honor.”
He added:
“In Ethereum, we protect our own, and uphold our honor.”
The Issue with Section 1960
Storm also addressed the confusion surrounding the Section 1960 charge of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He highlighted conflicting interpretations by various government agencies, which have created regulatory uncertainty for developers like himself.
Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer at the DeFi Education Fund, criticized the DOJ’s interpretation of Section 1960 in December 2024. She argued that the statute was poorly drafted and amended inconsistently, leading to ambiguities.
Tuminelli emphasized that non-custodial protocols like Tornado Cash, which do not control user funds, should not fall under the scope of Section 1960. She pointed out that the statute, along with definitions under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), requires entities to gain and relinquish control of funds to qualify as money transmitters—something Tornado Cash does not do.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy weighed in, arguing that authorities should focus on bad actors breaking existing laws rather than targeting developers.
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