Jury Seated for Tornado Cash Dev Roman Storm's Trial

NEW YORK — A 12-person assemblage has been seated for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm's transgression trial, and opening arguments are acceptable to statesman aboriginal this day successful the Thurgood Marshall courthouse successful little Manhattan.

Seven women and 5 men with a divers scope of backgrounds and ages volition determine whether the U.S. Department of Justice tin beryllium beyond a tenable uncertainty that Storm engaged successful conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering, conspiracy to interruption U.S. sanctions and conspiracy to run an unlicensed wealth transmitting business. Jury enactment began connected Monday.

Of the jurors, conscionable 1 works arsenic an IT manager, portion different works astatine surveillance and information steadfast Palantir. The remainder person antithetic acquisition backgrounds ranging from precocious schoolhouse diplomas to a master's degree, and their ages scope from individuals successful their 20s to their 60s.

The tribunal went connected interruption aft the assemblage was seated, but opening arguments volition statesman soon and are expected to extremity earlier the adjacent of concern connected Tuesday. The proceedings itself is expected to past astir 4 weeks.

Read more: Right to Code? Tornado Cash Dev Roman Storm's Money Laundering Trial Kicks Off Monday

Opening arguments travel arsenic Storm's defence squad tries to disregard immoderate of the grounds prosecutors mean to present during the trial, including communications betwixt Storm and his chap Tornado Cash developer, Alexey Pertsev.

The defence has argued that a information of the messages obtained from Pertsev "fails to place and mischaracterizes who really wrote the messages," including an enquiry from a now-former CoinDesk newsman to Tornado Cash developers aft the hack of Axie Infinity's Ronin Bridge.

In their indictment of Storm, prosecutors characterized that enquiry arsenic coming from Pertsev:

"[Pertsev] sent a connection to Storm and [Tornado Cash developer Roman Semenov] done the Encrypted App, saying 'Heya, anyone astir to chat astir axie? Would similar to inquire a fewer wide questions astir however 1 goes astir cashing retired 600 mil,'" the indictment said successful paragraph 57.

The connection was really from a erstwhile CoinDesk reporter, sent to a radical chat that included different (now-former) CoinDesk reporters and editors, arsenic good arsenic Storm and Pertsev.

"That chat is conscionable 1 illustration of many," the defence argued in a filing connected Friday.

CORRECTION (July 15, 2025, 18:15 UTC): Corrects a truncated condemnation astir the jurors' acquisition backgrounds.