Crypto Regulation News: DOJ Opposes Tornado Cash Case Dismissal

Key Insights:

• According to recent crypto regulation news, US prosecutors rejected Roman Storm’s bid for acquittal in the Tornado Cash case.
• The DOJ argued that Tornado Cash’s defense based on the Cox copyright case cannot apply in this case.
• The unresolved counts could lead to a retrial later this year.

According to crypto regulation news, Roman Storm, the co-founder of Tornado Cash, still faces the risk of another trial on two criminal counts after a jury failed to reach a verdict last year.

That pressure remains on him as Jay Clayton, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, pushes back against Storm’s bid for acquittal. Clayton, who also once led the SEC, told the court that Storm’s defense relied on arguments that did not fit the facts of this case.

Crypto Regulation News: Prosecutors Reject Roman Storm’s Dismissal Effort

In a crypto regulation news filing submitted on Tuesday, Clayton argued that Storm was trying to distract from the core allegations. He said the defense was leaning on a civil copyright case that had nothing to do with the charges tied to Tornado Cash.

That argument came after Storm’s lawyers said they planned to cite the 2026 Supreme Court case Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment. They wanted to use it to challenge the idea that Storm had the intent to take part in money laundering and sanctions violations.

Clayton rejected that comparison. He told the court that the conduct examined in the Cox case bore no resemblance to the conduct alleged against Storm. He also said the case had no real value here because it dealt with civil copyright liability, not criminal law.

Crypto regulation news | U.S. vs Roman Storm

More importantly, Clayton said there was no evidence that Storm had put in place meaningful anti-money laundering controls. In his view, that made the defense argument even weaker. The case has already become one of the most closely watched legal battles in crypto.

According to previous crypto regulation news, a jury found Storm guilty last August of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. However, the jurors were divided on the money laundering and sanctions charges. Hence, they could not provide a full verdict. That gave prosecutors a chance to re-prosecute those counts.

Now, both sides are due back in court for discussions on Thursday. The outcome matters far beyond Storm alone. Many in the crypto industry see the case as a major test of how far the government can go in holding software developers responsible for tools built with open-source code.

Attorney Behind Anti-Crypto Enforcement Memo Takes the Leading DOJ Role

According to recent crypto regulation news, the legal fight has also unfolded amid a period of change at the Justice Department. Last week, President Donald Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi and named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting head of the department until the Senate confirms a replacement.

Blanche had already drawn attention in crypto circles. In April 2025, he wrote a memo criticizing what he described as regulation by prosecution. He said the department should not go after platforms simply because criminals used them for illegal activity. He also called for an end to cases that did not match that position.

Storm later pointed to that memo in a March post on X after prosecutors moved to retry him on the two unresolved counts.

Storm said he could spend decades in prison for writing open-source code. He maintained that he did not control the protocol and never touched the transactions at the center of the case. He also noted that one jury already failed to agree that his conduct amounted to a crime. Still, prosecutors are pushing for another trial.

For now, it is still not clear how Blanche’s new role could shape Justice Department policy in Storm’s case. It is also unclear how long he will stay on as acting attorney general.

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