Three blockchain advocacy groups file amicus briefs in defense of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm

On April 5, three blockchain advocacy groups filed amicus briefs to defend Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm against criminal charges in the United States. The documents support Storm’s motion to dismiss the charges against him and lay out arguments to protect the developer from such legal action. Among them, the Blockchain Association said the case had a “critical flaw” and its adoption could have an “adverse impact” on the crypto industry. The group’s legal director, Marisa Tashman Coppel, asserted that the U.S. government’s designation of Tornado Cash as an unlicensed money transmitter is unfounded. Under 18 USC § 1960 and FinCEN regulations, money transmitters must have complete and independent control over user assets. Tornado Cash and developers have no control over funds because the protocol is self-executing and immutable. Instead, users maintain control of their assets, which are held in pools managed by non-custodial smart contracts. Peter Van Valkenburg, head of research at CoinCenter, said the U.S. government "wrongly accused Tornado Cash's developers of criminal conspiracy," explaining that Tornado Cash's software tools and user interfaces were non-essential, meaning the defendants did not execute transactions, merge assets, receive funds, or provide secret notes - even if the platform was used for those purposes. The DeFi Education Fund believes that developers should not be held liable when third parties use related software for criminal activities. (CryptoSlate) Earlier in late March, Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm had filed a motion seeking to dismiss all three charges against him, including charges that he operated a money laundering business and violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.