Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm’s cause has drawn support from the likes of venture capital firm Paradigm and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) as he faces prosecution in the U.S. for allegedly facilitating money laundering through the Ethereum-based crypto mixer.
Paradigm announced that it would donate $1.25 million to support Storm’s legal defense, while the EFF has filed an amicus brief in support of the developer.
Announcing the contribution to Storm’s legal fund, Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang called the charges an attack on software developers.
“The prosecution’s case threatens to hold software developers criminally liable for the bad acts of third parties, which would have a chilling effect in crypto and beyond,” Huang wrote in a tweet.
Paradigm will be donating $1.25M to help fund Roman Storm’s legal defense
The prosecution’s case threatens to hold software developers criminally liable for the bad acts of third parties, which would have a chilling effect in crypto and beyond
We must stand with @rstormsf https://t.co/OvPHNYeGFD
— Matt Huang (@matthuang) January 28, 2025
Acknowledging Paradigm’s contribution, Storm expressed his “enormous gratitude” to the VC firm in a tweet. He added that, “Your support means the world, not just to me, but to every developer fighting for fairness and innovation. Thank you for believing in me and defending the principles that matter!”
Civil liberties nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), meanwhile, has filed an amicus brief in support of Storm, warning that his prosecution could stifle privacy-focused software development.̉
“The EFF pointed out that holding developers responsible for how their tools are used is an overreach, comparing privacy protocols like Tornado Cash to physical cash or encryption tools that serve legitimate purposes but can also be misused,” the EFF wrote.
It added: “The government’s prosecution raises larger civil liberties concerns that could chill the future development of privacy-enhancing technologies more broadly.”
It also criticized the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in the case, saying that laws regulating such technologies should be enacted by Congress, not through broad interpretations of existing sanctions laws.
Decrypt has reached out to the EFF for comment and will update this article should they respond.
The Tornado Cash prosecution
In August 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Tornado Cash founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov with money laundering, sanctions violations, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
With Storm’s trial set for April 14, 2025, the outcome of his case could have far-reaching implications for financial privacy and software development.
The case comes amid shifting legal ground for Tornado Cash.
In September, a New York court denied Storm’s motion to dismiss his charges, stating that while parts of Tornado Cash were immutable, other aspects remained under developer control.
But just last week, a Texas court dealt a blow to the regulators as it overturned U.S. Treasury sanctions on the coin mixer, ruling that immutable smart contracts do not qualify as “property” under the IEEPA.
This follows a similar ruling in November 2024, where the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court found that sanctioning immutable smart contracts exceeded the Treasury’s legal reach.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
