TL;DR
- Tornado Cash’s Roman Storm needs $1.5M more for legal defense as his precedent-setting trial enters week three.
- The case could criminalize open-source development if creators are held liable for third-party misuse.
- Co-founder Alexey Pertsev was convicted in the Netherlands; Roman Semenov is wanted by the FBI.
Tornado Cash co-creator Roman Storm has urgently requested $1.5 million in additional legal defense funding as his landmark trial enters its third week in New York. The plea comes despite over $3.9 million already raised from crypto supporters, underscoring the unprecedented financial strain of a case that could redefine accountability for open-source developers globally.
🚨 Urgent Call for Support 🚨
We’re running out of time — legal costs are piling up fast, and we urgently need your help.
If you believe in open-source, privacy, and standing up to injustice, please donate now. Every bit counts 🙏It sounds crazy, but…
— Roman Storm 🇺🇸 🌪️ (@rstormsf) July 26, 2025
Critical Funding Shortfall Emerges
In a July 26 social media appeal, Roman Storm revealed his legal team is “working around the clock” and has “forgotten what normal sleep feels like.” With costs “piling up fast,” he stated: “It sounds crazy, but I need again $1.5mm.” His defense fund shows $3.2 million raised toward a new $5 million target, supplemented by $750,000 from the Ethereum Foundation. The trial, ongoing since July 14 in Manhattan’s Southern District Court, is projected to conclude by August 11.
Trial Threatens Open-Source Development
Prosecutors claim that Storm plotted to launder money, broke U.S. sanctions, and ran an unlicensed money-transmitting operation using Tornado Cash, a protocol notoriously associated with North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The outcome could criminalize neutral privacy tools, potentially chilling decentralized innovation. Though OFAC’s 2022 sanctions were overturned in January 2024 and formally lifted in March, the case tests whether developers bear responsibility for third-party misuse of immutable code.
First Amendment Defense Strategy
Storm’s lawyers argue Tornado Cash was never a business but an uncontrolled protocol, invoking two key defenses:
- Regulatory Precedent: 2019 FinCEN guidance exempting anonymizing software creators from money-transmitter registration.
- Free Speech Protection: Asserting code publication qualifies as expression under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Prosecutors counter that Storm maintained influence through Tornado Cash protocol upgrades.
Co-Founders Face Divergent Fates
The trial reveals the divided founding team of Tornado Cash:
- Alexey Pertsev: Convicted of money laundering in the Netherlands (May 2024), now appealing under electronic monitoring.
- Roman Semenov: Currently on the FBI’s wanted list with whereabouts unknown.
- As the sole U.S. defendant, Storm’s verdict could set a global precedent for developer liability.
