The U.S. prosecution expects to complete its evidence presentation in the Roman Storm case by July 25
The criminal trial of Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has entered a critical stage.
Reports indicate that during the fourth day of the trial on Thursday local time, key witnesses such as FBI agents testified, providing details and evidence related to the investigation of Storm.
However, due to the complexity of legal arguments and uncertainties regarding witnesses and evidence, the prosecution anticipates completing all evidence presentation by July 25.
Currently, Storm faces three felony charges, including conspiracy to launder money, operating a money transfer business without a license, and violating U.S. sanctions law, which could result in a maximum of 45 years in prison if convicted.
As the prosecution's evidence presentation nears its conclusion, the case is set to reach an important turning point, with the defense team planning to call witnesses such as technical experts and privacy advocates to argue that Tornado Cash, as an open-source tool, is technically neutral and that cryptocurrency privacy services are necessary for protecting specific user groups.
It is noteworthy that the uniqueness of this trial lies in its potential to set a key judicial precedent; although the presiding judge recently dismissed the defense's motion regarding the invalidity of certain evidence, he allowed the defense to argue the constitutional controversy of "code as speech."
Legal experts point out that regardless of the final verdict, this case will leave a profound mark on the history of cryptocurrency development, with implications that may extend far beyond Tornado Cash itself and directly relate to the framework definition of compliance boundaries for future blockchain privacy technology development.
Currently, the case is progressing according to established procedures, and it is expected that after the prosecution's evidence presentation concludes, the defense will immediately initiate the witness subpoena process, with the entire trial expected to last 3-4 weeks.
