After roughly two weeks of testimony from U.S. government witnesses, the legal team representing Roman Storm, co-founder and developer of Tornado Cash, began presenting its defense. On Thursday, Storm’s attorneys called Ethereum core developer Preston Van Loon as their first witness, marking the start of their case.
Government rests its case
Prosecutors formally rested their case on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, clearing the way for the defense to begin. Van Loon’s appearance on the stand marked the ninth day of the high-profile criminal trial.
According to courtroom reporting from Inner City Press, Van Loon described Tornado Cash as a “privacy tool for Ethereum.” He testified that he had personally used the crypto mixing service four times in either 2019 or 2020, transferring a total of 43 Ether. Van Loon cited concerns about personal safety as the reason behind his use of the tool.
“If [hackers] know the scope of my assets I can become a target,” Van Loon said in court.
Prosecutors question developer’s connections
During cross-examination, prosecutors focused primarily on whether Van Loon had any personal ties to Storm and whether he used mainstream platforms like Coinbase. The line of questioning appeared aimed at challenging the necessity of using Tornado Cash as opposed to regulated exchanges.
Storm’s legal team previously indicated plans to call “two or three doctors” and possibly an expert from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The defense portion of the trial is expected to last about a week.
Van Loon’s history with Tornado Cash sanctions
Notably, Van Loon is also a plaintiff in a separate lawsuit challenging the U.S. Treasury’s sanctions on Tornado Cash’s smart contract addresses, an issue closely tied to the criminal charges Storm now faces. Storm is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmission business, and violating U.S. sanctions law in connection with Tornado Cash.