Federal prosecutors have pushed back on a key defense argument from Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, telling the court that a recent Supreme Court ruling tied to Cox Communications should not be imported into his criminal case. In their filing, prosecutors said the Cox decision dealt with copyright enforcement in a different legal setting and has no direct bearing on the charges facing Storm.
Prosecutors say the case is about conduct, not just code
Storm’s legal team had cited the Supreme Court decision in support of its motion to dismiss, arguing that software developers should not be held liable for the way users interact with their tools. Prosecutors answered that this framing misses the point of the Tornado Cash case. Their position is that Storm’s alleged conduct shows a more active role in the platform’s operation, rather than a passive role limited to writing software.
Storm is accused of conduct linked to facilitating more than $1 billion in illicit transactions. A jury has already convicted him on one count of operating an unlicensed money transmission business, while charges tied to money laundering and sanctions violations remain unresolved. That leaves the case only partially decided, with the central legal fight still active.
Filing contrasts Cox safeguards with Tornado Cash practices
Prosecutors placed heavy weight on what they described as a basic difference between the two matters. In the Cox case, they said, the company took strong steps to address illegal activity on its network. In Tornado Cash, by contrast, developers allegedly failed to introduce meaningful safeguards even though they recognized the risk of abuse. That distinction sits at the center of the government’s effort to block Storm’s reliance on the Supreme Court ruling.
The filing also said Storm understated the degree of control he had over the protocol when responding to victims. Prosecutors pointed to more than 250 changes made to the platform’s infrastructure during the relevant period. In their view, that level of involvement cuts against claims that he had only limited authority. They also argued that possible measures to reduce criminal misuse were discussed but never put in place.
Possible retrial now points to October 2026
The unresolved charges may now move toward another round in court. Prosecutors proposed October 2026 as a tentative point for proceedings to resume. The next phase could shape how legal responsibility is assigned to developers working on decentralized platforms, especially in cases where privacy tools are accused of being used for unlawful transfers.
Support for Storm continues inside the crypto sector. Vitalik Buterin has publicly defended the importance of privacy tools, including those linked to Tornado Cash. At the same time, officials at the U.S. Department of Justice have said writing code is not inherently illegal, while stressing that knowingly enabling criminal activity can still lead to prosecution. Separate enforcement actions have already ended in convictions for similar services: the founders of Samourai Wallet received prison sentences, reinforcing the government’s position on crypto mixing platforms.