Crypto Advocacy Groups Support Tornado Cash Developer in Legal Battle – Here’s the Latest
Crypto advocacy groups have come to the support of Roman Storm, the developer of Tornado Cash, in his ongoing legal battle.
Storm, who was arrested in August and charged with three counts related to his role as a co-founder of the Ethereum privacy protocol, recently filed a motion to drop the charges against him.
He argued that the government’s argument was flawed in its understanding of Tornado Cash’s service and blockchain technology.
Three prominent pro-crypto organizations, Coin Center, the Blockchain Association, and the DeFi Education Fund, have filed amicus briefs in support of Storm.
While each brief was written and filed separately, they all make similar arguments against the government’s indictment.
The government’s indictment alleges that Storm and his co-founder Roman Semenov engaged in the business of transferring funds on behalf of the public without registering Tornado Cash with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
This led to the charge of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.
However, the Blockchain Association’s brief highlights that FinCEN’s own definitions contradict this characterization.
According to the brief , intermediaries can only be liable as money transmitters if they exercise total independent control over the assets, which is not the case with Tornado Cash.
The brief warns that if the government’s interpretation stands, it would essentially ban anonymizing protocols and make compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act impossible for developers.
Coin Center’s brief focuses on arguments against the count of conspiracy to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) and provides a First Amendment defense.
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