Roman Storm Warns DeFi Devs: DOJ Could Target Anyone

Roman Storm Warns DeFi Devs: No One Is Safe from DOJ Charges

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: October 20, 2025

Key Takeaways

Roman Storm urged DeFi developers to consider the risk of DOJ action, even when building non-custodial, decentralized tools;
He warned that prosecutors might claim such platforms should include custodial features, despite being designed for decentralization;
Storm’s conviction raised concerns that writing open-source DeFi code could be seen as running an unlicensed money service.

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Roman Storm, a developer at Tornado Cash, has raised a concern within the open-source development community.

He asked whether creators of decentralized finance (DeFi) tools could truly feel safe from legal action by US authorities.

His question comes as a reflection on his own experience and ongoing legal battle.

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In a post on X, Storm asked developers how they could say they would not be treated as money transmitters by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for building systems that do not hold user funds or act as intermediaries.

He warned that prosecutors might still argue that such platforms should have included custodial features, even when they are designed to operate without central control.

Storm referred to the DOJ’s approach in his own case. In a legal motion filed on September 30, he pointed out that Tornado Cash was created as a decentralized tool, beyond the control of any individual or company.

He stated that his team had no way to manage, alter, or interfere with the protocol after its release.

In August, a jury found Storm guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business. This verdict worried many developers, as it suggested that contributing code to open-source financial projects could be seen as a criminal act.

Meanwhile, Binance $10.2B was recently in discussions with the DOJ to remove a condition from its 2023 legal agreement. What did the discussions cover? Read the full story.