tl;dr
Developer Roman Storm, creator of the coin mixer Tornado Cash, is on trial in New York, with U.S. prosecutors accusing him of creating the platform to launder stolen funds and profit, rather than to promote privacy ideals. The defense argues Tornado Cash was intended for legitimate private transacti...
Developer Roman Storm created the coin mixer Tornado Cash not to promote Cypherpunk ideals like privacy but to "make bags and bags of money," U.S. prosecutors stated during a criminal trial in New York. Federal prosecutor Benjamin Gianforti argued that the business catered to criminals by providing privacy for laundering stolen funds through the decentralized, non-custodial privacy protocol launched in 2019.
Storm's defense contested these claims, asserting that he never intended for hackers to exploit Tornado Cash and that the protocol's purpose was to allow ordinary users to transact privately. Mixers like Tornado Cash work by obscuring links between senders and recipients, pooling and redistributing funds to enhance transaction privacy. Defense lawyer David Patton acknowledged that while Tornado Cash's features were not perfect, privacy protocols inherently carry such characteristics.
Prosecutors dismissed the defense’s emphasis on privacy as a "cover story," suggesting the primary goal was to conceal illicit funds for criminals. The nearly three-week trial included testimonies from blockchain experts, hackers, victims of scams, and private communications between Storm and his co-founders, highlighting the tension between privacy rights and criminal misuse.
The case is seen by the crypto community as a pivotal moment that could determine software developers' liability for how their products are used. A guilty verdict might set a precedent potentially stifling innovation in the U.S. Storm faces charges including conspiracy to commit money laundering, sanctions violations, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, with a maximum sentence exceeding 40 years if convicted.
The twelve-member jury began deliberations but paused shortly after starting. They are scheduled to resume on Thursday, with a verdict possibly forthcoming the same day. U.S. law places no time limit on jury deliberations, which in some cases have lasted months before reaching a decision.