What you need to know about Roman Storm’s Tornado Cash trial

Key Points

1. Roman Storm faces federal charges including money laundering and violating US sanctions, which could result in over 40 years in prison.

2. The defense argues Storm only wrote open-source code and did not operate a business or manage customers, citing FinCEN guidance that anonymizing software providers are not money transmitters.

3. The prosecution claims Storm and other developers retained control over Tornado Cash's UI and knowingly facilitated money laundering.

4. The trial's outcome may influence the appeal of Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Pertsev, who was convicted of money laundering in the Netherlands based on similar arguments.

5. Legal experts highlight the potential impact of the case on developer liability, with some arguing that prosecuting developers for others' use of privacy tools sets a dangerous precedent.