Tornado Cash Co-Creators Roman Storms Seek Extra $1.5 Million to Fund Legal Defenses

Roman Storm, one of three original builders of the Ethereum-based mixer Tornado Cash, published an “urgent call for support” on X requesting an additional $1.5 million to continue financing his defense in United States v. Storm, a closely watched criminal proceeding in Manhattan federal court. Court began July 14 and is scheduled to conclude around August 11, but legal bills have already consumed most of the $3.9 million previously raised via the FreeRomanStorm campaign and a separate $750,000 grant from the Ethereum Foundation. Storm faces charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Prosecutors allege the privacy protocol facilitated laundering of more than $1 billion, including funds linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The defense contends Tornado Cash is immutable open-source code beyond the defendants’ control and that writing and publishing code is constitutionally protected speech. Storm’s team relies on 2019 FinCEN guidance stating that developers of anonymizing software are not automatic money-transmitter operators. They also cite the January 2025 ruling in Tornado Cash v. OFAC that overturned Treasury sanctions on the protocol, framing the criminal case as an overreach that could criminalise privacy-enhancing software broadly. The trial has galvanized free-speech and privacy advocates. Coin Center warned that a conviction could discourage development of non-custodial crypto tools. Electronic Frontier Foundation filed an amicus brief stressing First Amendment implications, while more than 30 blockchain projects signed an open letter supporting Storm. Donations can be made in ETH, USDC or other ERC-20 tokens to multisig addresses controlled by a five-member legal-defense committee that includes prominent developers and attorneys. As of press time, freeromanstorm.com indicated 65 % progress toward a new $5 million target. The outcome holds sizable precedent value. A partial acquittal could reinforce the distinction between code authorship and custodial financial services, whereas a conviction might expose other protocol creators to liability despite decentralisation claims. The request underscores the soaring cost of crypto litigation and the community’s willingness to crowdfund high-stakes legal battles.