- Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, is seeking $500,000 immediately to cover legal fees for his trial starting Monday.
- Total estimated legal costs for Storm’s defense have increased to $3.5 million, exceeding initial projections.
- Storm has already raised about $2 million, which equals 57% of his fundraising goal.
- The Ethereum Foundation committed $500,000 and pledged to match community donations up to $750,000.
- If found guilty, Storm faces up to 45 years in prison on charges of money laundering and violation of U.S. sanctions.
Roman Storm, co-founder of the crypto mixing platform Tornado Cash, has issued an urgent appeal to raise $500,000 for legal costs ahead of his trial set to begin Monday in the United States. Storm is facing charges of money laundering and violations of sanctions laws related to his work on the Tornado Cash platform.
On Saturday, Storm wrote on X that he is dealing with a “critical shortfall” and will need an additional $1 million in the coming weeks, with total expected legal expenses now reaching $3.5 million. His legal team said the trial could last up to four weeks, which is twice as long as earlier plans.
“My team is working nonstop to defend code as free speech, protect software development, and push back against government overreach that threatens us all,” Storm stated on X. The organization Free Pertsev & Storm, set up to help with legal fees for Tornado Cash founders, initially projected legal costs at $2 million. However, due to “complex legal arguments and unforeseen witnesses and evidence,” Storm updated the estimate to $3.5 million.
Storm was arrested in August 2023 on charges including money laundering, operating as an unlicensed money transmitter, and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions. If convicted, he faces up to 45 years in prison. On Friday, his legal team tried to delay the trial, arguing that prosecutors introduced a new witness after the deadline. Judge Katherine Failla, who is overseeing the case, ruled that the trial will not discuss U.S. Treasury sanctions on Tornado Cash, since those sanctions were lifted in March.
In April, the DeFi Education Fund asked the Trump administration to stop what it called the “lawless prosecution” of open-source software developers such as Storm. At present, Storm has collected about $2 million in donations for his defense, mainly in the cryptocurrency Ether (ETH), which can fluctuate in value. ETH is currently trading at $3,030 according to Nansen.
Last month, the Ethereum Foundation announced it would donate $500,000 to Storm’s defense and match community contributions up to $750,000. MetaCartel DAO has also donated the remainder of its treasury to the cause.
For more details or to support, visit Free Roman Storm.
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