Tornado Cash Case Escalates as the U.S. Department of Justice Rejects Roman Storm’s Defense

Gate News update: U.S. Department of Justice’s latest filing shows that controversy surrounding the ongoing criminal case against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm continues to escalate. The prosecution explicitly rejects the defense’s reliance on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in “Cox Communications v. Sony Music,” stating that the two legal frameworks are entirely different and therefore cannot apply to crypto money-laundering allegations.

Roman Storm’s legal team argues that the ruling underscores that internet service providers should not be held responsible for users’ unlawful conduct, or that it could provide grounds to acquit him. However, the prosecution points out that Cox involved a civil-liability issue in a copyright dispute, whereas Storm faces criminal charges involving money laundering, unlicensed remittances, and evasion of sanctions—there are fundamental differences in the legal nature between the two.

The Department of Justice further emphasized that Cox adopted effective compliance measures in response to infringement conduct, successfully preventing the vast majority of violations, while Storm was accused of failing to effectively restrict the flow of illicit funds and, in some cases, not taking substantive action despite being aware of the risks.

The core of the case also involves the 2022 Ronin hack. According to disclosures by the prosecution, approximately $449 million in stolen funds were moved through Tornado Cash via 1,751 transactions, with a substantial portion of the funds tied to illegal activities known to Storm. Related materials state that before the attack occurred, Storm had already foreseen that the protocol could be used for money-laundering purposes.

Some of the charges in the case are still pending adjudication. The court is pushing for a retrial of the offenses related to money laundering and sanctions evasion, which is expected to begin in October 2026. This development is viewed as an important regulatory signal for the crypto industry—especially regarding legal responsibility determinations for decentralized privacy tools.

Meanwhile, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has publicly expressed support for Storm, arguing that the development of privacy tools themselves should not be criminalized. But on the other side, the founder of similar services such as Samourai Wallet has already pleaded guilty and been sentenced, showing that regulatory attitudes are tightening.

As the case moves forward, the Tornado Cash case may have far-reaching effects on developers of crypto privacy protocols, compliant pathways for DeFi ecosystems, and global regulatory frameworks.