Studying Time: 2 minutes
- Roman Storm has alleged that the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) “wishes to bury DeFi”
- The DOJ has brushed apart 5 of Storm’s six proposed knowledgeable witnesses, severely curbing testimony on blockchain expertise, privateness, and KYC
- The Ethereum Basis and diversified DeFi advocates beget pledged over $1 million in perfect enhance
Twister Cash co-founder Roman Storm has framed his upcoming trial as a pivotal fight for decentralized finance (DeFi), accusing the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) of making an strive to crush the sector by focusing on its developers reasonably than users. The agency has objected to the inclusion of Storm’s 5 knowledgeable witnesses, extra limiting his ability to argue the technical and philosophical underpinnings of DeFi. This setback hasn’t stopped his supporters, however, with the Ethereum Basis and crypto advocacy groups rallying late him and donating half one million greenbacks to his protection, with more to return.
Prosecutors “Attempting to Crush” Storm
Storm’s allegation that the DOJ has obtained it in for DeFi came on X, where he warned of the pivotal nature of his case:
😔💔 I’m Roman Storm. I poured my soul into Twister Cash—machine that’s non-custodial, trustless, permissionless, immutable, unstoppable. In 31 days, I face trial. The DOJ wishes to bury DeFi, asserting I must’ve managed it, added KYC, never built it. SDNY is making an strive and crush…
— Roman Storm 🇺🇸 🌪️ (@rstormsf) June 13, 2025
Storm faces bills including conspiracy to launder money, working an unlicensed money transmitter, and evading U.S. sanctions stemming from the Twister Cash platform’s alleged feature in laundering North Korean hacker proceeds. His protection maintains that it’s far pernicious to again code authors criminally liable for how their machine is frail, with Storm himself claiming that, in transferring to dam his witnesses, the Southern District of Unique York used to be “attempting to crush me.”
He also opined that the manner forward for DeFi rested on the cease outcomes of the case, citing, “If I lose, DeFi dies with me.”
Can I Salvage a Take a look at?
Southern District of Unique York prosecutors beget moved aggressively to exclude Storm’s knowledgeable witnesses, arguing that testimony on blockchain protocol nuances, digital privateness, token mechanics, and KYC policies are “irrelevant, unfairly prejudicial, and complex to the jury.” Of Storm’s six witnesses, the DOJ wishes to dam 5, leaving the sixth, blockchain forensics knowledgeable Matthew Edman (who testified in the Kleiman v Wright trial in 2021), going by important limitations on his evidence. The authorities insists the case rests on concrete allegations—money laundering and sanctions violations—no longer broader expertise or philosophy.
Storm might perchance well additionally beget persevered a week from hell, however there used to be some respite in the form of a $500,000 donation by the Ethereum Basis with the promise to match as a lot as $750,000 in neighborhood donations. Enterprise groups Coin Center, DeFi Education Fund, and the Blockchain Association beget also submitted amicus briefs warning that criminalizing developers risks undermining DeFi’s core principles, in a mark of the broader fight at play.
