{"id":37723,"date":"2026-03-10T13:45:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=37723"},"modified":"2026-03-10T13:45:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:45:02","slug":"tornado-cashs-roman-storm-could-face-40-years-as-government-seeks-new-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=37723","title":{"rendered":"Tornado Cash\u2019s Roman Storm Could Face 40 Years as Government Seeks New Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bitcoin Magazine<\/a>
\n
\nTornado Cash\u2019s Roman Storm Could Face 40 Years as Government Seeks New Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan want another chance to convict Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, asking a judge to schedule a retrial this October on two criminal counts where jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision last year.<\/p>\n

The request, filed<\/a> Monday in the Southern District of New York, would reopen one of the most consequential legal battles over the boundaries of software development and criminal liability in the cryptocurrency industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The case centers on Tornado Cash<\/a>, a decentralized crypto mixer designed to obscure the origin and destination of blockchain transactions.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors argue<\/a> the tool enabled large-scale illicit finance. Storm and his supporters argue the government is attempting to criminalize open-source code.<\/p>\n

Storm\u2019s first trial ended in August with a mixed outcome<\/a>. A Manhattan jury convicted him of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business but deadlocked on two other charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions.<\/p>\n

Those unresolved counts carry the heaviest penalties. A conviction on both could expose Storm to as much as 40 years in federal prison.<\/p>\n

In their letter to Judge Katherine Polk Failla, prosecutors said a retrial date should be set now to avoid scheduling delays. They proposed a start in early or mid-October and estimated a new trial would last about three weeks.<\/p>\n

Storm remains free on bail while the case continues.<\/p>\n

A mixed policy shift in Washington<\/h2>\n

The retrial request arrives during a shift in the federal government\u2019s public posture toward digital assets.<\/p>\n

Last year, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche circulated a memo<\/a> stating that the Justice Department \u201cis not a digital assets regulator.\u201d The guidance instructed prosecutors to avoid cases that attempt to impose regulatory frameworks through criminal charges against platforms, wallets, and similar infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The memo also cautioned against targeting developers for the conduct of users who interact with decentralized tools.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has softened its language around privacy tools on public blockchains. In a March 2026 report<\/a> to Congress under the GENIUS Act, Treasury acknowledged that digital asset mixers can serve legitimate purposes.<\/p>\n

According to the report, lawful users may rely on such tools to shield sensitive financial information, including personal wealth, business payments, charitable donations, and consumer spending patterns.<\/p>\n

Storm helped create Tornado Cash in 2019 as a privacy protocol for the Ethereum network. Unlike custodial mixers, the protocol operates through smart contracts rather than a centralized service operator.<\/p>\n

Federal authorities have argued the tool facilitated more than $1 billion in illicit transactions, including activity tied<\/a> to the North Korean hacking group known as the Lazarus Group.<\/p>\n

Roman Storm: Making code a crime<\/h2>\n

Storm\u2019s defense maintains that developers cannot control how decentralized software is used after deployment.<\/p>\n

In a post on X following news of the retrial request, Storm said<\/a> the first jury heard four weeks of evidence before failing to reach consensus on the two most serious charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cA jury of 12 Americans heard four weeks of evidence and deadlocked,\u201d he wrote. \u201cNo verdict on money laundering. No verdict on sanctions violations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm framed the retrial effort as an attempt to redefine the legal status of code.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government\u2019s response?\u201d he wrote. \u201cTry again to make writing code a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

This post Tornado Cash\u2019s Roman Storm Could Face 40 Years as Government Seeks New Trial<\/a> first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine<\/a> and is written by Micah Zimmerman<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bitcoin Magazine Tornado Cash\u2019s Roman Storm Could Face 40 Years as Government Seeks New Trial Federal prosecutors in Manhattan want another chance to convict Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, asking a judge to schedule a retrial this October on two criminal counts where jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision last year. The request, filed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"\nTornado Cash\u2019s Roman Storm Could Face 40 Years as Government Seeks New Trial - Cryptomag<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=37723\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tornado Cash\u2019s Roman Storm Could Face 40 Years as Government Seeks New Trial - Cryptomag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bitcoin Magazine Tornado Cash\u2019s Roman Storm Could Face 40 Years as Government Seeks New Trial Federal prosecutors in Manhattan want another chance to convict Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, asking a judge to schedule a retrial this October on two criminal counts where jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision last year. 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