Crypto KOLs step in to defend Tornado Cash and Roman Storm – Here’s his case and persecution

Crypto key opinion leaders (KOLs) are rallying behind Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, who is awaiting trial on April 14. Storm, a well-known developer in the crypto community, is facing legal charges for his involvement with the decentralized crypto tumbler service Tornado Cash.

In a January 24 post on X, BNB chain ecosystem development director Gala Wen wrote a heartfelt message in support of Storm. He called him one of her “oldest friends in crypto.” 

She went on to express her disappointment over how people in the crypto industry reacted when they learned of his connection to Tornado Cash.

Wen pointed out that many project managers were eager to discuss Storm’s achievements until his involvement in the crypto mixer was mentioned.

“Through him, I see the spirit of a great developer, a great founder, a great father, a great American, and a great man,” Wen noted. “I don’t believe a good developer should face such consequences because he deployed a smart contract.”

Alongside Wen, crypto KOLs are now calling for the Tornado Cash co-founder’s case to be dismissed. This comes after dark online marketplace Silk Road founder Ross William Ulbricht received a full pardon from President Donald Trump last Tuesday, as reported by Reuters.

Roman Storm deserves to be free, industry leaders voice

On January 22, Roman sent out a statement on X (formerly Twitter), accusing the US Justice Department of wrongly prosecuting him for writing open-source code that allows for private, non-custodial crypto trade

“The charges against me threaten to criminalize software development itself. If successful, the implications could extend far beyond the crypto industry, impacting every software developer,” he remarked.

Storm also mentioned that his legal counsel, Keri Axel, believes the lawsuit is a threat to any software developer. This could deter them from creating new software across every industry.

Today, I’m taking a stand against the Biden administration’s unjust crackdown on crypto development. I’ve filed a lawsuit against the DOJ to challenge their flawed and unjust interpretation of the law.

My work on Pharos—a non-custodial protocol for public goods…

— Michael Lewellen (@LewellenMichael) January 16, 2025

The Tornado Cash code creator’s plea has drawn interest from several industry leaders, including Ethereum co-founder and programmer Vitalik Buterin. 

“No man [should be] left behind,” Buterin posted on X. Tornado Cash developer Alex Pertsev is also facing prosecution.

In August 2022, The US Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Tornado Cash with facilitating illegal activities such as money laundering and sanctions evasion. 

Storm argues that Tornado Cash is simply a tool and cannot be held accountable for how individuals choose to use the mixer.

Legal victory for Tornado Cash

On November 26, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to remove Tornado Cash-related addresses from its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list. 

The court’s decision pointed out that sanctioning Tornado Cash’s smart contracts was ineffective in preventing malicious actors from using the platform. 

The Fifth Circuit Court also asked that the legislation should be updated to better regulate crypto-mixers.

However, they made a case that the current legal framework should not restrict dApps like Tornado Cash from functioning.

Following that decision, Storm filed a motion on December 20, 2024. He demanded that the criminal charges against him be thrown out.

To that end, the DeFi Education Fund, Coin Center, and the Blockchain Association have filed amicus briefs in support of Storm’s defense. 

In the meantime, I’m working tirelessly on my case with my legal team. Lawyers aren’t cheap—and I’m no oligarch.https://t.co/Bia0b9hbcc pic.twitter.com/JD28SRLruv

— Roman Storm 🇺🇸 🌪️ (@rstormsf) January 24, 2025

These briefs argue that prosecuting developers for creating open-source software is bad trade, and the aftermath could harm innovation in the crypto industry.

In his post, Storm quoted Vivek Ramaswamy, who recently stepped down from his co-lead role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), saying developers of code should be “off bounds.”

“What you actually need to do is go after individual bad actors who are breaking the laws that already exist,” Ramaswamy stated.

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