Roman Tornado, founder of the Tornado Cash Tool Tool, warned that open source developers could face a serious criminal risk from US prosecutors by creating unpaid financial software.
His message has defined the crypto community as his legal battle moves forward. Reports revealed a mixed jury result in Manhattan and a high-profile argument that the publishing code could reach the money transfer business.
Storm asked the developers of Defi: “How can you be sure that you will not be charged by the Department of Justice as a financial service business for building a non-building protocol?”
Image: NDTV/X
Developers have warned of the risk of rollbacks
According to court filings and public statements, the storm says US law protects people who publish software that others use to transfer money. Based on the reports, prosecutors called Tornado Cash a scheme that was used to pass more than $1 billion.
Just a question for the current defi devis:
How can you be sure that you won’t be charged by the DoJ as an MSB – building an unsaved protocol – and tell him you were building a shelter instead?
If SDY could charge a dev to build a non-discodial protocol…
Who …– Roman Storm 🇺🇸 🌪️ 🌪️ (@rstomsms) October 18, 2025
Storm’s team pushed back, citing the protocol’s rules — software that doesn’t shape users’ money — and that suspected users of hacking could be fined for open source work.
Tornado: Jury divides in Manhattan cases
The jury could not reach an agreement on some, serious counts. The US Attorney’s office had explained the use of the tool in a wide range, while the Defense focused on the technical facts: No one person is controlled by the Protocol the way a bank controls accounts.
Defense attorneys have filed motions seeking an extradition and asking judges to rule that code creators should not be punished for how they use their work.
The legal community is raising the alarm
Based on reports, lawyers and analysts, including legal crypto experts, warned that this case could set a wide price if the prosecutors’ opinion holds.
Others in the community have organized a fundraiser to help with Tornado Cash Founger’s legal expenses. Some say the issue affects free speech, because publishing code can be a form of expression, and criminalizing the authors would change how many people write and share software.
Defense mobility and technical contradictions
Storm’s group points to depinvalization and false construction. They argue that the protocol code runs on public blocks and no one was running the service using money in the conventional sense.
Recent court filings suppress these elements and ask the judge to overturn the guilty verdict. Prosecutors argue that when devices are created and developed through illegal means, legal liability can follow.
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