US prosecutors seek October 2026 retrial for Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm

U.S. prosecutors have requested a retrial for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm on two unresolved charges, proposing a start date in early to mid-October 2026.

In a letter filed Monday with U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in the Southern District of New York, the Department of Justice said it intends to retry Storm on Counts One and Three of the superseding indictment. The filing estimated that the retrial would last approximately three weeks.

Storm is a co-founder of Tornado Cash, a non-custodial cryptocurrency mixer that U.S. authorities say was used to launder more than $1 billion in illicit funds. Last August, a jury convicted Storm on the money transmitting count but failed to reach a verdict on additional money laundering and sanctions charges.

While the letter acknowledged Storm’s pending Rule 29 motion for a judgment of acquittal that is scheduled for argument on April 9, prosecutors urged the court to set a retrial date now to avoid potential delays stemming from scheduling conflicts. The DOJ noted it is prepared for a spring retrial but will defer to the defense’s availability.

“To avoid the emergence of further scheduling conflicts and any additional delays, the Government respectfully requests that — if the Court’s schedule allows — the Court schedule the retrial to begin on or about October 5 or 12, 2026,” the letter said.

According to the letter, Storm and his attorneys communicated that setting a date at this stage is premature, but confirmed their availability for a three-week trial during a window in late September, early October, or early December.

In response to the letter, Storm wrote on social media platform X that he will “never stop fighting for freedom.”

“The 2 counts = up to 40 years in federal prison — For writing open-source code. For a protocol I don’t control. For transactions I never touched. A jury already couldn’t agree this was criminal. But the SDNY prosecutors want to keep trying with the hope of getting a different answer,” wrote Storm, who said he has already exhausted his legal defense funds.

A guilty verdict on the two charges for retrial could carry a maximum sentence of 40 years for Storm.

Industry support

Storm’s case has drawn support from members of the crypto and blockchain industry, many of whom argue that developing software should not be equated with direct financial wrongdoing, as alleged by prosecutors. Crypto advocates have donated millions of dollars to support Storm’s legal defense.

Earlier this year, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a letter saying he is a “strong believer in the importance of privacy” and described privacy tools such as Tornado Cash as a necessary defense against systemic data exploitation.

The Solana Policy Institute also published an open letter, calling for stronger legal protections for software developers like Storm.

Shifting narratives

Storm’s case began during the Biden administration, but the Justice Department’s stance on software developers has shifted under the Trump administration. In August, Matthew J. Galeotti, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement that “writing code” is not a crime.

Additionally, a recent Treasury Department report to Congress acknowledged that crypto mixers can have legitimate privacy uses, such as protecting personal wealth or charitable donations, while highlighting persistent illicit finance risks. The Treasury’s 2022 sanctions on Tornado Cash were lifted in 2025 after a court ruling.

Amid the changing discourse on mixers and privacy tools, Storm’s retrial is expected to set a significant legal precedent for non-custodial crypto tools.