Tornado Cash Case: Roman Storm found guilty, only one charge out of three was upheld.

After four days of deliberation, the jury in the federal court in New York reached a unanimous verdict only on one of the three charges against Roman Storm, finding him guilty of "operating an unlicensed money transfer business."

Regarding the allegations of money laundering and violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), no consensus ruling was reached. This ruling by the federal court in New York has also sparked strong reactions in the cryptocurrency industry.

The core dispute of the case lies in whether Storm, as a developer, should bear legal responsibility for the usage of Tornado Cash. The prosecution alleges that Storm was aware that the tool was used by criminal organizations such as the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group for money laundering exceeding $1 billion, yet still profited millions of dollars from it.

It is worth noting that although the prosecution requested the immediate detention of Storm on the grounds of flight risk, Judge Katherine Polk Failla ultimately approved his bail, stating that "there are still many unresolved issues in this case."

This ruling has had a profound impact on the community of developers of cryptocurrency privacy tools. Just a week ago, the two founders of the Bitcoin wallet Samourai Wallet acknowledged similar charges after reaching an agreement with the authorities.

Legal experts point out that the core dispute in such cases lies in how to define the boundaries of developers' responsibilities. Organizations like Coin Center argue that the ruling overlooks the guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that "developers who cannot control user funds do not fall under the category of fund transmitters."

Privacy advocates have expressed concerns about the ruling's outcome. The DeFi Education Fund has made it clear that it will continue to support Storm's appeal, with its legal head Amanda Tuminelli emphasizing that the accusation has "fundamental flaws." Meanwhile, former SEC Chairman and current U.S. Acting Attorney Jay Clayton praised the conviction as an important victory in the fight against crimes using new technologies.

In summary, as the sentencing date has not yet been determined and the prosecution may refile charges on unresolved accusations, the final outcome of this case still holds potential for change.

But what is certain is that this lawsuit has once again sounded the alarm for the development and use of cryptocurrency privacy tools, and its subsequent impact may reshape the compliance standards and development direction of the entire industry.

#TornadoCash案 # RomanStorm