Manhattan Jury Convicts Roman Storm in Tornado Cash Unlicensed Transmission Case

Roman Storm, co-founder of the Tornado Cash crypto mixer, was convicted by a Manhattan jury of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, a charge that carries up to five years in prison. However, jurors deadlocked on more serious charges including conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions against North Korea, leading to a partial verdict. Prosecutors argued Storm knowingly enabled illicit transactions, including those linked to the Lazarus Group, but Storm's defense maintained that the protocol operated autonomously and he could not control how users utilized the software. Following the verdict, prosecutors sought to have Storm jailed citing flight risk concerns due to his Russian background and access to large crypto assets, but the judge denied detention, citing Storm's compliance with bail conditions and family ties in the U.S. The case has sparked significant debate within the crypto community and legal experts about the liability of open-source developers and the applicability of traditional laws to decentralized financial tools, with some advocacy groups criticizing the prosecution's approach and warning of dangerous precedents. Prosecutors have not ruled out retrying the deadlocked charges, and the case continues to highlight the complex intersection of privacy, regulation, and innovation in the cryptocurrency space.