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A jury has found Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm guilty on one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, but split on two others in a partial verdict delivered on Wednesday, August 6, 2025.
The verdict comes after three weeks of trial in the high-profile case against the Tornado Cash co-founder, whose arrest and trial has attracted a lot of attention across the crypto industry.
On Wednesday, the jury found him guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, a felony charge carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Final: US v. Roman Storm verdicts: Conviction on onspiracy to run an unlicensed money transmittal business. No unanimity on conspiracy to commit money laundering nor on conspiracy to violate North Korea sanctions. Book 1: amazon.com/dp/B0FHXTCNCR Book 2 coming…
Tornado Cash dev’s trial
Storm, indicted in August 2023, faced allegations stemming from his role in developing Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service.
Other than the unlicensed money transmission business charge, the government accused him of facilitating illicit financial activities and aiding the North Korea hacker group Lazarus.
Prosecutors argued that Storm chose to allow the use of Tornado Cash by criminals by not implementing safeguards that he could code.
Witnesses against the developer included experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and white hat hackers.
The guilty verdict on one of the counts, handed down in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, came after the jury had hit a dreadlock and prompted an Allen Charge.
Jurors still failed to reach unanimous decisions on two additional charges – the conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate US sanctions related to North Korea.
Storm had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Bail pending sentencing
Following the guilty verdict on the unlicensed money transmission charge, prosecutors argued that Storm posed a flight risk and should be detained pending sentencing.
However, US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla rejected this motion, aligning with the defense’s position that Storm was unlikely to flee.
According to court reports from Inner City Press, the judge stated,
“He may appeal, he has every incentive to stay and fight. He is not a risk of flight, given the size of the bond. There is a lot of fighting left in this case before sentencing, and I think Mr. Storm will stay for it.”
While prosecutors did not immediately indicate whether they’ll seek a retrial, Storm’s legal team is expected to appeal.
Meanwhile, the Tornado Cash developer is out on a $2 million bail, and at the time of writing, the court has not set a sentencing.
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