Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm Found Guilty on Money Transmitting Charge by Jury

A New York jury has convicted Roman Storm, a developer of the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash, on charges of facilitating unlicensed money transmission. Storm now faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The case was brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, which alleged that Tornado Cash helped launder more than $1 billion in illicit funds, including money stolen by the North Korean-linked Lazarus Group. Storm’s lawyers argued that he should not be held responsible for how others use the open-source software he wrote. However, the prosecution argued that Storm was aware of the illicit uses of Tornado Cash and failed to take steps to prevent them. This case is considered a significant precedent, as it is the first time a developer of a cryptocurrency mixing service has faced criminal charges. The verdict could have significant implications for the future of decentralized software development and privacy in the cryptocurrency space. It remains uncertain how this case will affect other developers who write code that can be used for illicit purposes. However, it is clear that governments around the world are paying increasing attention to cryptocurrencies and taking steps to regulate them.