Tornado Cash Developer Warns DeFi Builders of DOJ Risk

[chainsniff]

Roman Storm, co-developer of Tornado Cash, has raised alarm for the open-source community, asking whether DeFi developers risk retroactive prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Storm questioned:

“How can you be so sure you won’t be charged by the DOJ as a money service business for building a non-custodial protocol?”

His remarks follow his recent motion for acquittal, where he argued Tornado Cash is a decentralized protocol with no central operator or control.

Storm’s conviction in August for conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business has set a controversial precedent for open-source developers worldwide.

[kelson10]

His warning highlights growing legal tension between privacy tools and regulatory compliance.

[alex10]

DeFi devs must now design with transparency in mind to avoid unintended legal exposure.