Is Code a Crime Now?

The U.S. vs Roman Storm: One Developer, One Trial, and the Future of Privacy Tech

⚖️ Quick Take

• 🧑‍💻 Who: Roman Storm — co-founder of Tornado Cash
• ⛓️ Charges: Money laundering, sanctions evasion
• 🚨 Max sentence: 45 years in prison
• 🧠 Key issue: Can you go to jail for writing open-source code?

🚔 Tornado Trial: What’s Actually Happening?

Roman Storm isn’t being accused of stealing money, hacking, or laundering cash himself. His “crime”? Writing the code behind Tornado Cash — a privacy protocol that helps people move ETH anonymously on-chain.

Now, the U.S. government says Storm was more than just a coder. Prosecutors argue he controlled the app’s front-end, responded to users, and profited off the project by selling TORN tokens — while knowing it was being used by North Korean hackers and scammers.

💬 One quote hit hard:

“He didn’t stop it. He didn’t warn anyone. He just kept going.”

🛡️ The Defense: “He Just Wrote Code”

Storm’s lawyers are coming in hot. Their position?

Code is speech — and Storm didn’t help anyone launder money.

They brought in Ethereum developer Preston Van Loon, who testified that he personally used Tornado Cash for privacy and operational security. The defense compared the app to VPNs and encryption tools: neutral tech that can be used for good or bad — but isn’t illegal.

🛠️ Defense argument:

• No evidence Storm knew who used Tornado
• No proof he enabled criminal use
• Negligence? Maybe. Criminal intent? No.

🧃 The Juicy Twist: Bad Blockchain Tracing?

Star witness Hanfeng Lin claimed she lost 250K in a scam — and that her ETH was “traced” to Tornado Cash.

But… crypto sleuths like @tayvanox and ZachXBT came in swinging: Turns out, that tracing might be totally wrong. Her ETH? Never touched Tornado.

The defense called for a mistrial. The judge said no — but it’s clear: blockchain forensics isn’t bulletproof.

🤡 One IRS witness couldn’t even tell the difference between TORN and ETH. Yikes.

🧑‍💻 Why the Crypto Community Is Freaking Out

This isn’t just about Tornado Cash.

This trial is about the right to build privacy tools. If Storm is convicted for writing open-source code, it sends a terrifying message to every dev building in DeFi, privacy, and Web3:

“If someone might use your tool illegally, you could end up in jail.”

🧑‍⚖️ One dev tweeted:

“If Storm loses, we’re one step away from criminalizing GitHub repos.”

🔮 What’s Next?

• The defense will bring in Omid Malekan, Columbia professor, to argue that Tornado is no different from email encryption or cash.
• The trial will determine if developers are responsible for what people do with their code.
• Verdict could shake the entire foundation of decentralized software development.

🌐 Bigger Picture: Why This Trial Really Matters

This is not just a legal case. It’s a philosophical war over:

• Financial privacy vs surveillance
• Open-source freedom vs regulatory fear
• Permissionless innovation vs centralized control

If Storm walks free — devs breathe easier. If he’s convicted — everyone building privacy into the internet just got put on notice.

TL;DR

Roman Storm is on trial for writing Tornado Cash code. The U.S. says he enabled criminals. The defense says he’s just a coder. The outcome will shape the future of open-source dev, privacy protocols, and whether “code is speech” still holds in Web3. This case isn’t about one man — it’s about who owns the right to build the future of finance.