Weeks Earlier than Trial, Twister Money’s Roman Storm Sounds Alarm: ‘If I Lose, DeFi Dies With Me’ – Decrypt

Twister Money co-founder Roman Storm issued one in all his starkest rebukes but of the Trump administration’s Division of Justice on Friday, arguing that if federal prosecutors prevail within the developer’s upcoming prison trial, decentralized finance could possibly be completely destroyed. 

“The DOJ desires to bury DeFi, saying I ought to’ve managed it, added KYC, [and] by no means constructed it,” Storm wrote. “SDNY is making an attempt to crush me, blocking each skilled witness.”

“If I lose, DeFi dies with me,” the crypto developer continued. “The dream of monetary freedom, the code I believed in—all of it fades into darkness. This isn’t simply my finish; it’s ours.”

Storm was charged by the DOJ in 2023 with conspiracy to commit cash laundering, working an unlicensed cash transmitter enterprise, and evading U.S. sanctions, for his position in operating Twister Money—a preferred service that enables customers to make their on-chain transactions tough to hint. Whereas such coin mixing platforms are common amongst privateness advocates, they’ve additionally been employed by prison organizations and U.S. state enemies like North Korea.

Earlier this 12 months, after President Donald Trump retook energy and directed quite a few federal businesses to again off the digital belongings trade, the DOJ shuttered its crypto-dedicated enforcement unit and directed prosecutors to not pursue prison costs towards coin mixing companies for “acts of their finish customers.” 

Many in crypto took the coverage shift as a sign that the DOJ would possibly quickly pardon Storm. Instantly after returning to workplace, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founding father of Silk Highway, a black market web site powered by Bitcoin.

However Storm’s pardon by no means materialized. Final month, Trump’s DOJ mentioned it could press ahead with its case towards the Twister Money co-founder, solely dropping a component of a single cost that  he did not adjust to cash transmitting enterprise registration necessities. 

Storm and different DeFi advocates have argued that the prosecution unjustly holds software program builders chargeable for the methods during which their software program is used. Final 12 months, one other Twister Money developer, Alexey Pertsev, was convicted by a Dutch courtroom that dominated the location was “supposed for criminals.”

In a publish on the social media platform X on Friday, the Ethereum Basis mentioned that it was donating $500,000 to Storm’s protection fund and that it could match as much as an extra $750,000 in donations from the neighborhood. “Privateness is regular, and writing code will not be a criminal offense,” the non-profit tweeted.

Whereas President Trump has made a number of pro-DeFI strikes in current months—signing a invoice into legislation repealing an IRS rule protested by the sector, and supporting crypto laws that includes carve-outs for decentralized finance protocols—trade advocates at the moment are warning that profitable prosecution of figures like Storm may trigger important hurt to DeFi’s working rules. 

When reached by Decrypt and requested whether or not he now perceives the Trump administration to be hostile to DeFi, based mostly on his continued prosecution, Storm referenced a current authorized submitting made by the DeFi Training Fund, an trade lobbying group, in Alexey’s Pertsev’s ongoing attraction of his conviction within the Netherlands.

“Ought to we take away all the pieces from the market that’s recognized for use by criminals for unlawful actions?” the submitting reads. “[S]oftware builders shouldn’t be held criminally chargeable for the actions of third events who use their software program to commit crimes.”

UPDATE (June 13, 2025, 6:58 p.m. ET): Provides details about Ethereum Basis contribution to protection fund. 

Edited by James Rubin