Tornado Cash founder rallies community support in DOJ's attempt to 'crush' him

Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm has called out the Department of Justice (DOJ), alleging that the agency is trying to “crush” him. Storm claimed that the DOJ is blocking his expert witness from testifying ahead of his trial on July 14, which is about a month from today.

The legal battle between Tornado Cash and the United States government has been ongoing for a while. In 2023, the US government sanctioned the platform for allegedly aiding the North Korean hacker group, Lazarus. Since then, Storm has fought these allegations, which has led to the impending trial and witness dispute.

According to Storm, he has called six expert witnesses to shed light on the case, and the DOJ has entirely rejected five of them. One of his witnesses, Matthew Edman, was said to have relevant experience and information about blockchain technology, but the DOJ chose to reject him.

Tornado Cash founder says DOJ wants to bury DeFi

According to one of his posts on blogging platform X, the Tornado Cash founder called for the help of the industry, noting that the DOJ wants to bury decentralized finance.

“The DOJ wants to bury DeFi, saying I should’ve controlled it, added KYC, [and] never built it,” Storm wrote. “SDNY is trying to crush me, blocking every expert witness.” He also added that if he loses, it might signal the death of DeFi. “The dream of financial freedom, the code I believed in—it all fades into darkness. This isn’t just my end; it’s ours.”

😔💔 I’m Roman Storm. I poured my soul into Tornado Cash—software that’s non-custodial, trustless, permissionless, immutable, unstoppable. In 31 days, I face trial. The DOJ wants to bury DeFi, saying I should’ve controlled it, added KYC, never built it. SDNY is trying to crush…

— Roman Storm 🇺🇸 🌪️ (@rstormsf) June 13, 2025

Aside from allegedly aiding the North Korean group, Tornado Cash was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitter business, and evading United States sanctions.

Tornado Cash is a popular service that allows users to obfuscate the source of their transactions, making it hard to trace on the blockchain. While such platforms have been seen as beacons for the transparency that the crypto sector stands for, it is also seen as a tool for criminal organizations and state enemies.

The trial is kicking off despite moves from the United States President Donald Trump administration earlier this year, showing that it wants to appeal to the crypto industry. The president ordered the DOJ to disband its crypto enforcement unit and direct prosecutors to no longer pursue charges against mixing services for the actions of their end users.

While many saw it as a good step in the right direction because of the pardon of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, a pardon never materialized for Storm. Instead, the DOJ said it was moving forward with the case against Tornado Cash and its founder.

Ethereum Foundation donates to Storm’s defense

Since the update from the DOJ, Storm and other DeFi advocates have argued that developers cannot be held responsible for what other people use their software for.

Last year, another Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev was convicted by a Dutch court that ruled that the website was intended for criminals. He was found guilty in May 2024 and sentenced to five years in prison. Another developer, Roman Semenov, who was named in the same indictment as Storm, is still at large. Reports suggest that Semenov may be hiding out in Russia.

However, it looks like the market will be backing Storm and Tornado Cash, with the Ethereum Foundation pledging to donate $500,000 to Storm’s defense. The foundation also said it is prepared to match up to $750,000 in donations from the community. “Privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime,” said the foundation.

In addition, lawyers for the Coin Center, DeFi Education Fund, and Blockchain Association have all filed amicus briefs in Storm’s case, providing information on the consequences if he were to be found guilty. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Paradigm founder Matt Huang have also made considerable donations to help Storm’s cause.

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