🛡️ Tornado Cash Co-Creator Roman Storm Seeks Additional $1.5M for Legal Battle

[johnblockbuster]

Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, is asking the crypto community for another $1.5 million to continue fighting his legal battle — a case many believe could define the future of open-source development and privacy in crypto.

“It sounds crazy, but I need again ~$1.5mm,” Storm wrote on X. “We’ve forgotten what normal sleep feels like. Every hour counts, and so do the costs.”

His legal team has already raised over $3.9 million, with the Ethereum Foundation contributing $750,000. Still, Storm says expenses are piling up fast as the case heads into week three of trial in New York.
️ Why This Case Matters

Storm is facing serious charges:

Money laundering

Violation of U.S. sanctions

Operating an unlicensed money transmitter

But his defense argues Tornado Cash is:

A decentralized, immutable protocol

Not a business, and

Protected under free speech laws as open-source code

The Bigger Fight

The case isn’t just about Tornado Cash — it’s about the right to build privacy tools, even if bad actors misuse them. If Storm loses, it could criminalize open-source coding in DeFi and chill innovation across the crypto ecosystem.
🧠 Fast Facts:

Tornado Cash was sanctioned by OFAC in 2022, but those sanctions were overturned in early 2024.

Roman Storm co-founded the mixer in 2019 with Alexey Pertsev (convicted in the Netherlands) and Roman Semenov (still at large).

Storm’s trial is expected to wrap up by August 11.

Want to Help?

Donations can be made to FreeRomanStorm.com where the current goal is to reach $5 million.

Whether you agree with Storm or not, this case could define how the U.S. treats developers building decentralized tools. Stay informed — and weigh in.

What do you think: Is Roman Storm being unfairly targeted? Or should open-source developers be held accountable when tools are misused?

#Crypto #TornadoCash #RomanStorm #Privacy #OpenSource #Ethereum #Web3 #CryptoLaw #DeFi #FreeSpeech

[jacson4]

Roman Storm’s call for another $1.5 million highlights how high the stakes are—for him personally and for crypto privacy broadly. His trial in Manhattan, which began mid‑July, has already incurred massive legal bills as his defense team races to argue that writing and publishing open-source code is protected by free speech.This case could set a landmark precedent: if developers are held criminally liable for how third parties use their code—despite no control over it—it could chill innovation and open-source freedoms. The fact that over $3.9 million is already raised shows powerful community conviction, but the fight isn’t over

[Nahid10]

Storm is asking for more funds because his legal team faces increasing complexity in court. Initially projected as a two-week trial, it has extended due to expert witnesses, unexpected evidence, and intense constitutional arguments over sanctions enforcement.The prosecution asserts he violated sanctions and money-transmitting laws, but his defense leans on FinCEN 2019 guidance and First Amendment protections around code publishing. If developers lose this case, open-source tools like Tornado Cash—not individuals—could be treated as criminal by proxy.