Tornado Cash Dev Roman Storm Won’t Testify—Legal Team Drops Bombshell Decision
In a courtroom twist that sent shockwaves through crypto circles, Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm's lawyers confirmed he won't take the stand. The move throws gasoline on an already fiery legal battle over privacy tech's role in DeFi.
Legal experts call it a high-stakes gamble—prosecutors allege Storm's code laundered billions, while defenders claim he simply built tools. Meanwhile, Wall Street bankers watching the case reportedly needed three martinis to process the idea of developers facing jail time for writing open-source software.
The case could redefine accountability in decentralized finance. Will code be speech—or an accomplice? Storm's silence speaks volumes.
Value of privacy
Storm’s defense elicited witness testimony detailing non-criminal reasons why someone might want to use a tool like Tornado Cash to separate their identity from their financial transactions.
Dr. Matthew Green, renowned cryptography expert and professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University, told the jury on Tuesday that the lack of privacy was a “bug” in the majority of cryptocurrencies, exposing users to threats from hackers and other attackers.
Green — who offered his expert witness services to Storm’s defense for free — explained that, without a tool like Tornado Cash, ethereum users are exposing sensitive personal information with every transaction, including how much money they have, what they spend it on and who they associate with. This presents a range of security risks, including phishing attempts, fraud and in-person “wrench attacks,” which Green explained have been “accelerating” in recent years.
Next steps
Whether the jury will side with the prosecution’s view of Tornado Cash or the defense’s has yet to be decided.
Tomorrow, both sides will have a chance to summarize their arguments in closing statements to the jury, after which the jury will be instructed by the judge on the charges against Storm and then released to deliberate.
