Roman Storm, co-founder of the Ethereum-based privacy mixer Tornado Cash, was convicted in August 2025 by a jury in the Southern District of New York for conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, facing a maximum sentence of five years. The jury deadlocked on two more serious charges, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions, each carrying up to twenty years in prison. The US Department of Justice is challenging the distinction between non-custodial developers and traditional financial operators, arguing that Storm operated a money transmitting business despite the absence of a human intermediary. Prosecutors allege that Tornado Cash facilitated over one billion dollars in transactions linked to illicit activities, including funds tied to North Korean hackers. The retrial on the deadlocked counts is scheduled for October 2026.
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