The U.S. Department of Justice has initiated a reexamination process for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, concerning two conspiracy charges on which the previous jury could not reach a consensus. Although Storm has been convicted of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business, the remaining two charges were left unresolved due to the jury's deadlock. The court had previously issued an 'Allen charge' urging jurors to continue deliberating, but to no avail.
This request for reexamination comes at a time when the U.S. government is subtly shifting its regulatory stance on digital assets. In April 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche released a memorandum that clearly adjusted the enforcement strategy regarding crypto assets; in March 2026, the U.S. Treasury submitted a report to Congress, for the first time acknowledging the legitimate need for financial privacy protection for lawful users provided by privacy tools like mixers on public blockchains.
The case has sparked widespread discussion within the crypto community. Storm and his supporters argue that the prosecution is attempting to criminalize open-source software development, which poses a profound threat to technological innovation. According to the 'Free Roman Storm' campaign, as of January 2026, the public has donated over $5 million to his defense fund.
The background of the incident dates back to August 2022, when the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash for being used to launder billions of dollars in illegal funds, including activities linked to the North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group. However, a subsequent appellate court ruled that the sanction process was unlawful, ultimately lifting the related restrictions and allowing the legal and ethical controversies surrounding the case to continue to fester.