DOJ Seeks October Retrial of Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have asked a judge to retry Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm in early October on two conspiracy counts tied to money laundering and sanctions evasion after a jury deadlocked last August. The DOJ proposed Oct. 5 or 12 for retrial and intends to pursue counts one and three of the superseding indictment, carrying a combined maximum sentence of up to 40 years. Storm was previously convicted on a lesser count for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business while jurors failed to reach unanimous verdicts on the heavier conspiracy charges. Storm’s defense has filed a Rule 29 motion seeking acquittal; the court will decide on that motion—argued April 9—before any retrial proceeds. The case has attracted public interest and funding from crypto policy groups such as the Solana Policy Institute and prompted renewed legislative activity (the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act) to protect non-custodial developers. The move comes as the U.S. Treasury has acknowledged that crypto mixers can have lawful uses, creating mixed policy signals. Prosecutors’ push is widely viewed as an attempt to set precedent holding open-source developers criminally liable for users’ illicit activity. For traders: watch legal filings, the court ruling on the Rule 29 motion, and any shifts in enforcement messaging—an adverse outcome could increase regulatory scrutiny of privacy tools and developer risk, affecting liquidity and sentiment in privacy-focused protocols; an acquittal would ease some regulatory pressure on mixing tools and related projects.