Roman Storm Retrial Delayed to April 2027

Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s retrial on the two charges a jury deadlocked on last year has been delayed to April 26, 2027, while the judge considers his request to throw out his conviction and the remaining charges.

What’s the Scoop?

• Trial Still Hanging: Storm was convicted last August of conspiring to run an unlicensed money-transmitting business, but the jury could not decide on the more serious money laundering and sanctions charges. Prosecutors opted to retry both, which carry a combined maximum of 40 years, while Storm has yet to be sentenced on his existing conviction.
• Conflicting Signals: The case continues even though, just weeks after Storm’s conviction, the DOJ said it would not bring new money-transmission charges against developers of truly decentralized, non-custodial software that simply lets users transact with each other.
• Chainalysis Twist: Storm is also highlighting that Chainalysis, the blockchain analytics firm that helped prosecutors build their case, itself operated a Tornado Cash relayer in 2022 and earned fees from transactions. Storm’s defense tried to get Chainalysis to testify during his first trial, but one employee planned to invoke the Fifth Amendment, while another who could verify the company’s records never took the stand. The jury therefore never heard that Chainalysis itself had run a relayer, despite prosecutors arguing that relayers were part of the broader Tornado Cash service.