Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, described his prosecution in a Jan. 22 X post as a “terrifying criminalization of privacy.” Tornado Cash is a non-custodial privacy protocol facilitating private crypto transactions via open-source code. 

He stated:

“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 is charged with operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and sanctions evasion. He was arrested on Aug. 23, 2023, and his trial is set for April 14, 2025.

The impact of the case is already apparent. Storm noted that another developer, Michael Lewellen, recently filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ), seeking relief from fears of releasing new software in the wake of Storm’s prosecution.

The Lewellen lawsuit addresses the same reasoning the DOJ used to prosecute the developers of Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet. This reasoning could have broad implications, as it could result in criminalizing software development.

Storm’s statement comes after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals 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.

Furthermore, the ruling highlighted that sanctioning the protocol does not block bad actors from using it, as smart contracts are autonomous and cannot be owned, controlled, or altered.

The court also suggested updating legislation to regulate the use of crypto-mixers. As a result, the current legal framework should not restrict applications such as Tornado Cash from operating autonomously.

On Nov. 26,

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Author: Gino Matos