The Daily: Jury reaches partial verdict in Roman Storm trial, traders hedge for BTC drop below $100K and ETH under $3K, plus more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Wednesday! In a Manhattan court this afternoon, Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm was found guilty of operating an unlicensed money transmitter, though the jury couldn’t reach a verdict on two other charges.

Also in today’s newsletter, options data show traders hedging for a BTC drop below $100K and ETH under $3K, CZ seeks the dismissal of the FTX estate’s $1.76 billion clawback lawsuit, China warns that Worldcoin-style iris data collection poses a national security threat, and more.

Meanwhile, an industry expert says that Trump’s latest tariff overhaul continues to squeeze U.S. bitcoin miners as ASIC imports shift abroad.

Let’s get started.

Jury reaches partial verdict in Roman Storm Tornado Cash trial

A Manhattan jury found Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm guilty of operating an unlicensed money transmitter on Wednesday, according to Inner City Press.

• However, after a few days of deliberation, the jury remained deadlocked on conspiracy to commit money laundering and U.S. sanctions violation charges, resulting in no verdict on those counts.
• As the jury was not unanimous on two of the three counts, the government said it would get back to the court on whether it will retry the money laundering and sanctions evasion charges.
• Storm was initially charged in 2023 for his role in operating the Tornado Cash crypto mixer, which helps users obfuscate the origin of their funds — whether for legitimate privacy or illicit purposes.
• Prosecutors argued Storm knowingly enabled over $1 billion in illicit transactions, including millions laundered for the sanctioned North Korean hackers, Lazarus Group.
• Storm’s defense said he never intended for hackers to use Tornado Cash and reacted with alarm when he learned they had done so.
• Crypto advocates, including Vitalik Buterin and the DeFi Education Fund, defended Storm and warned that the case threatens open-source developers and digital privacy.
• The verdict follows Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill changing their pleas to guilty on similar unlicensed money transmitter charges in a separate case targeting crypto mixers.
• Judge Katherine Polk Failla for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York oversaw Storm’s case.

Traders hedge for BTC drop below $100K and ETH under $3K

Crypto options platform Derive said traders are loading up on BTC and ETH puts expiring Aug. 29, signaling growing demand for downside protection after July’s Federal Reserve meeting.

• Bitcoin shows a sharper bearish skew, a gauge of relative demand for puts versus calls, suggesting traders are “heavily betting on a painful move back below $100,000,” Derive’s Head of Research, Dr. Sean Dawson, said.
• However, higher monthly implied volatility for Ethereum points to a rougher ride for ETH in August, with a 25% chance it dips below $3,000, Dawson said.
• Despite the hedging pressure, Derive still sees a 30% chance ETH tops $4K and an 18% shot for BTC to retest its highs by month-end.

Binance founder CZ seeks dismissal of FTX estate’s $1.76 billion clawback lawsuit

Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao is asking a U.S. bankruptcy court to toss the FTX estate’s $1.76 billion clawback suit, arguing the court lacks jurisdiction over him as a UAE resident.

• Zhao claims the transactions at issue were cross-border and fall outside the reach of U.S. bankruptcy law.
• The case stems from a 2021 equity buyback deal between Binance and FTX, which the collapsed crypto exchange’s estate alleges improperly enriched Zhao.
• Zhao joins other former Binance execs in challenging the lawsuit, framing the claims as an attempt to pin former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s failings on Binance.

China warns Worldcoin-style iris data collection for crypto poses national security threat

China’s Ministry of State Security said a foreign firm collecting iris data for crypto rewards poses a national security risk, pointing to privacy and data transfer concerns.

• While not explicitly named, the target of the warning appears to be a reference to World, formerly known as Worldcoin, recognized for its global iris-scanning campaign tied to WLD crypto distributions.
• World has previously faced regulatory probes in multiple jurisdictions over data privacy and protection concerns, though the project says it now deletes iris scans immediately and does not retain personal biometric data.
• The warning follows Indonesia’s recent suspension of World operations and adds to mounting global scrutiny over biometric data use in crypto projects.

‘Bitcoin is Life’ for BitBridge

BitBridge Capital Strategies will begin trading under the ticker symbol BTTL by the end of Q3, with plans to uplist to the Nasdaq thereafter as a pure-play bitcoin treasury firm with no legacy baggage.

• The company also plans to launch Bitcoin Respect Loan, a lending product designed to disrupt crypto lending with borrower-friendly terms that treat bitcoin as sound collateral.
• Meanwhile, BitBridge’s trademarked “Bitcoin is Life” campaign taps into Ted Lasso-style energy — channeling the hit Apple TV series’ “football is life” meme to champion bitcoin as the foundation for a better financial future.

In the next 24 hours

• The Bank of England’s latest interest rate decision is due at 7 a.m. ET on Thursday. U.S. jobless claims numbers follow at 8:30 a.m.
• Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will speak at 9:15 a.m. U.S. FOMC member Raphael Bostic follows at 10 a.m.

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