US prosecutors have formally requested a re-trial for Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on two charges. According to documents submitted to the court, the prosecution hopes the new trial can begin between October 5 and 12, expected to last three weeks. Although the prosecution stated it was prepared to move forward with the re-trial in the spring of this year (March to May), Storm's defense team responded that their lawyers would be unavailable to participate in the trial until the end of 2026.
Prosecutor representative Clayton mentioned in a letter that since Storm's side has not yet made a final response to the motion for acquittal, a hearing on that motion is expected to take place in April this year, making it premature to set a new trial date at this time. However, the prosecution remains determined to pursue the re-trial, aiming for a “different verdict outcome.”
Storm responded, “The jury has clearly indicated that my actions do not constitute a crime, yet the Southern District Attorney's Office in New York insists on re-trial.” He further criticized the prosecution for significant errors during the initial trial, including calling irrelevant witnesses, misunderstanding the blockchain forensic analysis it relied upon, and incorrectly claiming that third-party developers should bear legal responsibility for user actions.
“The same country, the same judicial department—despite failing, they still insist on re-trialing me,” Storm wrote on social media.
This re-trial request has reignited widespread discussions within the crypto community regarding regulatory boundaries and the legal responsibilities of decentralized protocols. Many technical experts point out that Tornado Cash, as an open-source tool, was designed to protect user privacy rather than assist illegal activities, and there is fundamental controversy over the legal logic of viewing developers as criminal accomplices.