The verdict is in. Roman Storm, one of the architects of Tornado Cash, has been convicted. Guilty of… what, exactly? Of writing code? Of engineering something that, like a knife, has as much potential to do evil as good? The consequences of this case are chilling — and no, I don’t mean the possible prison term. But this issue is larger than crypto. It affects the future of all of our privacy in this digital age, and it needs to get you mad as hell!

Code is Speech, Is Privacy Criminal?

Think about it. They certainly didn’t get him on money laundering, not in any meaningful sense. They finally nailed him for running an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Let's be blunt: the Justice Department couldn't prove he intentionally helped criminals, so they went for the technicality. That’s the same as punishing a car company because someone drove their car to rob a bank. Where does it end? Do we finally begin to hold big email providers accountable for widely disseminated phishing scams? What about ISPs and illegal torrenting?

This isn't some abstract legal theory. This is about you. This isn’t just an arcane lobbying issue. This is your right to financial privacy. Would you let anyone monitor every purchase you buy? What if you were personally responsible for every single donation and purchase that was questioned? Would you like your government, or even more concerning, malicious actors to have an unimpeded view of your entire financial life? Because that's the road we're heading down.

Personally, I can’t help but see parallels to the fight for encryption in the 90s. Can we learn the lessons from the days when governments wanted backdoors into every encrypted communication? They said it was to protect national security, to identify terrorists. That’s partly true, but gives them the ability to track down activists and reporters. Anyone who has the audacity to challenge the status quo suddenly finds themselves in the crosshairs. Tornado Cash, like encryption, is a tool. A remarkable medium, no doubt about it—a powerful tool, yes, but a tool nonetheless.

Southeast Asia, A Privacy Battleground

For most of us here in the West, financial privacy is a nicety. For the people—doctors, families, patients—it connects around the world, it’s a lifeline. Now picture yourself as that same activist in Southeast Asia, urging democratic reforms in your country under the boot of a repressive, authoritarian regime. You depend on crypto to get donations, to power your operation, to sustain your movement. Each transaction is visible to the public, though, meaning that the US government can follow every single satoshi. That leaves you and your supporters highly vulnerable to violence.

  • Journalists exposing corruption
  • Activists organizing protests
  • Individuals fleeing domestic abuse

These are just a few examples of the thousands of Americans who need anonymity to defend themselves. To deny them that right is to deny them safety, their freedom, and in some cases, their lives. Are we really okay with that?

In the prosecution’s case, they claimed that privacy was just a “smokescreen” for Tornado Cash. I pose that same question to you, what is wrong with wanting privacy? Isn't that a fundamental human right? Why is the unintentional assumption the default, and why is that default automatically nefarious? This verdict sends a clear message: if you build tools that can be used for illicit purposes, even if you didn't intend them to be, you're liable. That's a dangerous precedent. Consider Alexey Pertsev’s 64-month sentence in the Netherlands. This is a coordinated assault on privacy.

What Can You Do About It?

This isn't a time for apathy. This is a time for action. We have to make sure this verdict does not become the last word. Here's what you can do:

  1. Support Organizations: Donate to and support organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Blockchain Association. They're fighting for our digital rights and advocating for sensible regulation.
  2. Demand Transparency: Contact your elected officials and demand greater transparency and accountability from regulators. Tell them that you value your privacy and that you oppose government overreach.
  3. Educate Others: Talk to your friends, your family, your colleagues. Explain the importance of privacy and the dangers of this precedent. The more people who understand the stakes, the better.
  4. Use Privacy Tools: Learn about and use privacy-enhancing technologies like VPNs, encrypted messaging apps, and yes, even cryptocurrency mixers (responsibly, of course). Don't let the government scare you into abandoning your right to privacy.
  5. Amending Laws: Urge the Blockchain Association to advocate for amending the law regarding unlicensed money transmitters to prevent its misapplication to non-custodial software developers.

The Samourai Wallet case is another especially chilling example. The cofounders who might soon go to prison for offering the same service. This is a pattern.

Let's be clear: I'm not advocating for lawlessness. And I’m certainly not advocating that criminals should be free to carry on in impunity. I am not stating that we should choose one or the other, but rather we need a reasonable balance between security and privacy. We can’t trade our most basic freedoms to root out a few lawbreakers. Because once those rights are lost, they’re lost forever.

In his pre-trial statement, Roman Storm wrote about overwhelming sadness. He knew that this case not only signaled the end of his dream, but a much larger threat to so many others. Don't let his despair be justified. This is a fight we must win, but only if we stand united. Only when we speak out and insist on a world where being private is not illegal, but inalienable. The future of crypto, and the future of freedom, is riding on it.