The Storm conviction is unacceptable in “the crypto capital of the world.” Here are the necessary steps to right this wrong and protect software developers: 1) DOJ must accept the jury’s refusal to convict on money laundering and sanctions, and must not retry the case 2) DOJ must dismiss the Section 1960 charge, or else Roman must be pardoned 3) Congress must amend Section 1960 to clarify that money transmission requires control of funds and does not apply to the developers of non-custodial software There is no greater threat to crypto than DOJ’s misguided war on developers, which started under Biden and must stop under Trump. This battle may have been lost, but the war will be won.

If you’re seeing commentary about the “Section 1960” (18 U.S.C. § 1960) charge and Roman Storm’s conviction, but are thinking: *WTF* is Section 1960 and why does it matter for software devs / DeFi, this 🧵 is for you:

The Biden-Garland DOJ went after Roman for writing neutral code that criminals used for their own criminal purposes - true of literally every product from cars to phones. This case is a serious threat to innovation. Time to shut down the Biden-Garland war on crypto.

🚨NEW: Just caught @rstormsf outside the courtroom. I asked how he was feeling. In a quiet voice, but with a noticeable smile, he told me: “It’s a big win. The ‘1960’ charge is bullshit and we’re going to fight it all the way. You know how President Trump said ‘fight, fight, fight’? We’ll do that too.” He expressed relief at not being remanded to jail and mentioned his 5-year-old daughter as one of the reasons he plans to keep fighting the one charge he was convicted on. He said he’s heading back to Seattle tomorrow.

Today, a jury in Manhattan issued a partial verdict in Roman Storm’s case: they convicted him on count 2, conspiracy to violate Section 1960, and did not reach a verdict for counts 1 and 3, conspiracy to launder money and violate sanctions.  We are disappointed that the jury did not recognize that Storm should not be responsible for the actions of third parties he could not control. While it is understandable that the jury could not reach a decision on all the charges — as the government made many mistakes throughout and their case was not compelling — we hoped for a different outcome for Storm.  The government’s case targeting a software developer should have never been brought in the first place and remains fundamentally flawed: Tornado Cash is non-custodial software through which people engage in self-directed, p2p transactions.  Even the government acknowledges that Tornado Cash developers did not and could not exercise control or custody over user assets.  We will continue to support Storm as he appeals the verdict on Section 1960. At the DeFi Education Fund, we will always advocate for DeFi software developers’ fundamental rights, as we fervently believe software developers deserve the freedom to build decentralized financial tools and infrastructure, including privacy-preserving technology.

Roman Storm has been found guilty of count 2, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business. The jury was not unanimous on the other two counts.

So in Storm - Judge Failla gave a shorter Allen charge (e.g. of long version below) and then if the jury comes back and says they are still deadlocked on some charges, the court will accept a partial verdict. Meaning guilty or not guilty on one/some charges and a deadlocked on others.

Thank you @HesterPeirce for correctly recognizing the nature of DeFi technology, and for your relentless advocacy for creating a more open financial system. The BSA is broken. And, noncustodial DeFi technology is fundamentally incompatible with the CeFi-suited regime. DeFi software providers that do not exercise control or custody over user funds should not be improperly classified as intermediaries. Thank you for your efforts. Read more in Commissioner Peirce's speech here:

SEC Commissioner @HesterPeirce delivered an amazing speech today on financial privacy, which included references to Phil Zimmermann’s Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and Eric Hughes’ A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto. She stated: “Rather than something to be feared, we should embrace these tools’ ability to help humanity live freer lives without unwarranted financial surveillance. People use these tools for bad purposes too, but treating technology as the villain will impinge on legitimate users’ privacy.”

This Sunday. Everything you need to know about the criminal trial against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm. With @amandatums @tayvano_ @molly0xFFF @_Enoch hosted by @davidzmorris