Roman Storm said court records show blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis operated a Tornado Cash relayer and collected fees in 2022.
The same company later helped United States prosecutors trace transactions and build their criminal case against the developer in federal court.
Chainalysis relayer role draws criticism
Relayers let mixer users withdraw funds without exposing wallet addresses. Storm argued that records from his case show Chainalysis provided this service for Tornado Cash and received fees.
“So the company that helped trace my ‘criminal’ transactions was itself profiting from Tornado Cash transactions, while I was prosecuted over software I helped create,” Storm wrote Tuesday on X.
He also criticized the continued prosecution. “Prosecutors are supposed to protect American interests and go after people who broke the law,” he wrote.
“A jury deadlocked on the two most serious counts against me. And still SDNY won’t stop, because this case was never just about me. It’s about setting an example.”
Retrial moves to April 2027
United States District Judge Katherine Polk Failla postponed Storm’s retrial from October 26, 2026, to April 26, 2027. A final pretrial conference is scheduled for April 20 at Manhattan’s Thurgood Marshall Courthouse.
The change followed an August 3 defense motion seeking 90 preparation days after Failla rules on Storm’s acquittal motion. Prosecutors opposed the adjournment, but Failla approved it while the motion and continuance request remain pending.
Storm filed the acquittal motion in September 2025, with oral arguments heard in April. No decision followed for roughly one year.
“My acquittal motion is still sitting there, undecided,” Storm wrote. “I honestly don’t know when this ends.”
Deadlocked charges return before jury
A Manhattan jury convicted Storm in August 2025 of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The offense carries a five-year maximum sentence.
Jurors could not reach verdicts on conspiracy to commit money laundering or violate United States sanctions. Prosecutors will retry both counts, carrying a potential 40-year sentence.
The Southern District of New York case began in August 2023 and has continued for three years. Storm was arrested in Washington state, pleaded not guilty, and received a $2 million recognizance bond. Co-founder Roman Semenov remains at large after being charged alongside him.
Supporters describe the prosecution as a test of whether writing code constitutes a crime. The Solana Policy Institute pledged $500,000 toward the Tornado Cash founders’ defense in 2025.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly supported Storm and called privacy “necessary for many parts of our society.”
Storm’s attorneys also cited a recent Supreme Court ruling involving internet provider Cox. That decision found Cox was not responsible for customers pirating music. The defense argued its reasoning should similarly protect developers from liability for how others use their software.
