Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, has asked a US federal judge to overturn his conviction for unlicensed money transmission and dismiss the jury’s hung counts for money laundering and sanctions violations. Storm argues that prosecutors failed to prove he intended to aid bad actors in misusing the crypto mixer.
Legal documents filed on Sept. 30 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York state that Storm’s defense maintains the government could not show he acted with intent. The motion describes the prosecution’s theory as a negligence claim, arguing that Storm allegedly knew of misuse but failed to prevent it. The defense contends this approach does not meet the legal standard of willfulness.
Source: Tornado.Cash
Tornado Cash and the privacy debate
Tornado Cash is a decentralized, non-custodial Ether (ETH) mixer that uses zero-knowledge proofs to enhance transaction privacy. Launched in 2019 by Storm and Roman Semenov, the platform allows users to obfuscate the traceability of ETH transfers.
The service drew legal scrutiny due to its alleged use in laundering billions of dollars, including funds linked to North Korean hackers. According to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Tornado Cash processed over $7 billion since 2019, with roughly 30% allegedly tied to illicit activity. Storm was arrested in August 2023 by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation Division, while Semenov was added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals list.
The case has sparked criticism from the crypto community, with groups such as the Blockchain Association warning that Storm’s conviction could set a “dangerous” precedent for developers of privacy-focused technologies. They emphasized that Storm had no custody or control over the assets processed through Tornado Cash.
Crypto community defends privacy rights
Privacy remains a central concern for the crypto and broader cypherpunk-inspired community. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently criticized the EU’s proposed “Chat Control” legislation, which would mandate pre-encryption scanning on messaging platforms, arguing that such measures threaten digital privacy.
Giving regulators extensive visibility into private communications is incompatible with the values of digital privacy. Experts warn that overreaching regulation could push users toward ungovernable Web3 alternatives, reinforcing the ongoing debate over privacy versus oversight in crypto.