Crypto Mixer Founder Faces Mixed Jury Verdict

In a surprising turn of events, a U. S. jury couldn't agree on whether Roman Storm, the creator of Tornado Cash, broke the law by helping criminals hide money. Tornado Cash is a tool that makes cryptocurrency transactions hard to trace. The jury did, however, find Storm guilty of running an unlicensed money business. Storm could spend up to five years behind bars for this. The more serious charges of money laundering and evading sanctions could have landed him in prison for 20 years each, but the jury couldn't reach a decision on those. Storm was arrested in 2023. Prosecutors said his software helped hide over $1 billion, including money stolen by hackers linked to North Korea. Storm argued that he didn't intend to help criminals. His lawyer said Storm didn't want hackers using Tornado Cash.The prosecution claimed Storm knew his tool was used for illegal activities but kept it running for profit. They argued that Tornado Cash's focus on privacy was just a cover for helping criminals. Tornado Cash itself was once sanctioned by the U. S. government for allegedly supporting North Korea. Those sanctions were later lifted. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, another Tornado Cash developer was sentenced to over five years in prison for money laundering. This case raises big questions about privacy and regulation in the crypto world. Should tools that enhance privacy be banned just because criminals might use them? Or should creators be held responsible for how people use their software?