Tornado Cash Co-Founder Roman Storm Retrial Delayed to 2027

The delay shifts the proceedings back from the previously planned October 2026 date, following a request from Storm’s defense team citing scheduling conflicts. Storm currently awaits a ruling on a Rule 29 motion filed in September 2025, which seeks to overturn his conviction for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. If Judge Failla grants this motion, the existing conviction could be vacated, potentially altering the scope of the upcoming trial.

Should the conviction stand, Storm will still face a jury on two unresolved charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. These charges stem from the original 2023 indictment, which alleged that Storm and co-founder Roman Semenov processed over $1 billion in illicit funds, including assets linked to the Lazarus Group. The defense maintains that the protocol operated via immutable smart contracts beyond the developers' direct control, a position that has garnered support from figures such as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. With the final pretrial conference now set for April 20, 2027, the case remains a significant test of how U.S. law applies criminal liability to the developers of decentralized privacy software.