Roman Storm Guilty On Key Tornado Cash Charge, Faces 5-Year Term

- Roman Storm convicted of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. - Jury deadlocks on money laundering charge, clears him of sanctions violations. On August 6, 2025, The Block reported that a Manhattan jury found Roman Storm, co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The trial focused on allegations that Tornado Cash facilitated over $1 billion in money laundering, including transfers linked to North Korea’s sanctioned Lazarus Group. While the jury cleared Storm of conspiracy to violate sanctions, it deadlocked on the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors argued that criminals used Tornado Cash to launder proceeds and evade regulations, positioning Storm and his co-founders as operators of a platform that failed to comply with U.S. financial system requirements. In contrast, Storm's defense countered that he was a developer of open-source software designed for privacy, arguing that he did not control the platform after its deployment. This legal case has drawn significant attention from the cryptocurrency and tech communities, as many are concerned about its implications for developers of decentralized and privacy-focused technologies. Industry advocates fear that prosecuting developers for the actions of end users could stifle innovation in decentralized software. The charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business carries a maximum five-year prison sentence. However, following the verdict, the judge denied the prosecution's request to remand Storm, citing unresolved matters in the case that must be addressed before sentencing. Prosecutors retain the option to retry the deadlocked money laundering charge. According to CoinMarketCap, as of August 6 at 18:09 UTC, Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $3,697.21, showing a 2.5% increase in 24-hour trading volume.