Key Takeaways
- Roman Storm accused the DOJ of using debanking during his trial, highlighting crypto’s market utility.
- After GoFundMe blocked him, Storm used crypto to sustain his defense after being debanked.
- Facing a 2nd trial for money laundering, Roman Storm will next rely on crypto donations to survive.
Tornado Cash Roman Storm: ‘I’ve been debanked. Multiple times’
Roman Storm, the developer of the Ethereum mixing protocol Tornado Cash, convicted of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, has accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of weaponizing debanking in its prosecutorial processes.
On social media, Storm rebuked statements by Jackie Reses, co-founder and CEO of Lead Bank, who referred to debanking as an “absolute crock of shit.”
“There’s 5,000 banks in the United States. We have a lot of red states. Are you telling me that in lots of red states, including where my company is headquartered, Kansas City, Missouri—those banks were not willing to bank, for example, conservative companies?” she stressed on the Sourcery podcast.
Storm took it to social media to criticize Reses’ assertions, stating that he had been debanked multiple times while he was facing trial, as banks that received DOJ subpoenas stopped offering their services.
“Anyone who goes through a DOJ prosecution quickly learns this pattern: the moment the DOJ storms all your accounts with subpoenas, your bank shuts you down. It’s one of their tools to restrict your ability to defend yourself – making it harder to pay attorneys, manage your case, stay solvent,” Storm declared.
In addition, Storm reinforced the relevance of cryptocurrency to fund his defense after GoFundMe reimbursed donations without explanation. “ Crypto allowed me to crowdfund my legal defense. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to fight this case at all. I don’t know how I would have kept fighting without crypto existing,” he said.
Finally, he warned he could face a second trial for conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions, and that he would again rely on crypto donations to fund the upcoming process. “We may face a second trial. We may need to go through appeals. There are a lot of unknowns ahead, and every one of them costs money,” he concluded.
