Roman Storm, co-founder of the crypto mixing platform Tornado Cash, is urgently appealing for financial help as he prepares for trial on Monday. Facing charges of money laundering and violating U.S. sanctions, Storm says he needs to raise $500,000 immediately, with an additional $1 million required in the coming weeks to fund his legal defense.
In a post on X this Saturday, Storm warned of a “critical shortfall” in funding and emphasized that his team is working tirelessly to defend the principle that code is free speech, safeguard the rights of software developers, and challenge what they see as dangerous government overreach.
An advocacy group, Free Pertsev & Storm, previously estimated Storm’s legal expenses would total $2 million. However, Storm revealed Friday that the projected cost has risen to $3.5 million, as his trial could stretch to four weeks—twice as long as expected—due to complex legal issues and newly introduced evidence and witnesses.
Authorities arrested Storm in August 2023 and charged him with money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitter, and conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions. If convicted, he could face up to 45 years in prison.
His legal team recently sought a delay in the trial, arguing that prosecutors introduced a witness after the official deadline. Judge Katherine Failla denied the request and ruled that any reference to the U.S. Treasury sanctions against Tornado Cash—which were lifted in March—would not be permitted during the trial.
In a related move, the DeFi Education Fund, a crypto lobbying organization, called on the Trump administration in April to end what it described as the “lawless prosecution” of open-source developers like Storm.
Roman Storm Reaches 57% of Legal Defense Fund Goal For Tornado Cash
Roman Storm has raised about $1.96 million toward his $3.5 million legal defense goal—roughly 57% of the total needed for his upcoming trial. Because donors contribute in Ether (ETH), market price changes cause the total amount to fluctuate. At the moment, ETH is trading at $3,030, up 2.9% in the last 24 hours, according to Nansen.
The crypto community has stepped in to help. Last month, the Ethereum Foundation donated $500,000 and pledged to match community contributions up to another $750,000. Additionally, Bill Warren of MetaCartel announced that the MetaCartel DAO contributed all of its remaining treasury funds to support Storm’s legal battle.
