Bitcoin News

Story: Roman Storm Says DOJ Used Debanking to Gut His Tornado Cash Defense

By Bruce Buterin

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Subpoenas, Frozen Access, and a CEO Who Disagrees. The specifics matter here. Storm isn't talking about general frustration with the banking system.

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The Tornado Cash Case Isn't Over. Storm is potentially facing a retrial in the Tornado Cash case, which makes the debanking…

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Debanking as a Legal Weapon. Storm's broader point goes past his own situation. He's arguing that financial institutions can be…

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Roman Storm is angry. And he's not staying quiet about it. The Tornado Cash developer says the Department of Justice has been using debanking — the deliberate cutting off of…

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Storm called out Lead Bank CEO Jackie Reses directly, pushing back hard after Reses dismissed debanking as basically a non-issue. For Storm, it's very much an issue.

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Reses sees it differently. She's said publicly that debanking isn't the problem Storm makes it out to be. Storm's response, essentially: try living it.

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And that clash matters beyond just the personal beef. Reses runs a bank. Storm is a defendant in one of the most closely watched crypto prosecutions in recent memory.

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The DOJ hasn't commented. No response to Storm's allegations, no pushback, no clarification. Just silence.

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Storm is potentially facing a retrial in the Tornado Cash case, which makes the debanking allegations more than just background noise. Legal defense costs money.

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More context: Bond Markets Defy the Fed as 30-Year Treasury Yield Nears 5.1% and Barclays Pushes Rate Cut to 2027

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The Tornado Cash case has already been one of the longer-running and more contentious crypto prosecutions out there.

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That underlying argument hasn't gone away. And with a potential retrial still on the table, Storm needs resources. He says the DOJ is making sure he doesn't have them.

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Storm's broader point goes past his own situation. He's arguing that financial institutions can be used — whether intentionally or through the chilling effect of government…

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The mechanics are pretty straightforward, if his account is accurate. Subpoena someone's bank accounts enough times, and banks get nervous.

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Related: Coinbase Opens U.S. Perpetual Futures and Options to Retail and Institutional Traders

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