The DeFi Education Fund, a leading advocacy group for cryptocurrency policy, has made a formal request to the Trump administration, urging action against what it describes as the “lawless prosecution” of open-source software developers.
This call to action is primarily focused on the ongoing legal proceedings involving Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, a decentralized cryptocurrency mixer.
In a letter addressed to White House crypto advisor David Sacks on April 28, the organization implored President Donald Trump to intervene in what it perceives as a targeted campaign by the Biden-era Department of Justice (DOJ) against software developers.
Roman Storm Indicted for Alleged Role in $1B Crypto Laundering
Storm was indicted in August 2023 for allegedly facilitating the laundering of over $1 billion through Tornado Cash.
His trial is set for July, while his co-founder, Roman Semenov, is reportedly evading law enforcement in Russia.
The DeFi Education Fund contends that holding developers criminally accountable for the actions of others who utilize their open-source code is a troubling precedent.
“This is not only absurd in principle,” stated the letter, “but it sets a precedent that could potentially inhibit all crypto development in the United States.”
Furthermore, the group argues that the DOJ’s actions contradict earlier guidance established by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) during Trump’s first term.
This guidance clarified that developers of self-custodial, peer-to-peer protocols should not be classified as money transmitters and should not face such regulatory obstacles.
“This kind of legal environment does not just chill innovation — it freezes it,” the letter cautioned. “It empowers politically motivated enforcement and risks endangering every open-source developer.”
The petition has garnered support from prominent industry figures, including Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang, and Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko, with a total of 232 signatures collected to date.
2/ The Biden-era DOJ sought to criminalize open-source software development. Look no further than the prosecution of @rstormsf in the Southern District of New York (SDNY).
We have a real opportunity to shift course under the Trump administration, and we must act swiftly to… pic.twitter.com/6sEe0iISZN
— DeFi Education Fund (@fund_defi) April 28, 2025
The DeFi Education Fund commended Trump for his pro-crypto stance and his vision to establish the U.S. as a global leader in digital assets.
However, the group emphasized that achieving these ambitions would be unattainable if developers are subjected to criminal prosecution for creating non-custodial tools.
Jake Chervinsky, chief legal officer of Variant Fund, echoed this sentiment, labeling the DOJ’s case against Storm as “an outdated remnant of the Biden administration’s war on crypto.”
“There is no justification in law or policy for prosecuting software developers for launching non-custodial smart contract protocols,” Chervinsky asserted.
DOJ Files Charges Against Tornado Cash Devs
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Storm and his co-founder Roman Semenov, accusing them of facilitating the laundering of over $1 billion in cryptocurrency, including funds associated with the North Korean hacker group Lazarus.
Semenov, a Russian national, remains at large, while Tornado Cash’s third co-founder, Alexey Pertsev, was apprehended in the Netherlands in August 2022 and is currently in pre-trial detention.
In 2022, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Tornado Cash, citing its involvement in facilitating anonymous cryptocurrency transactions.
This action followed revelations that Tornado Cash had aided in laundering over $7 billion in virtual currency since 2019.
The sanctions were imposed due to the platform’s failure to implement robust controls to prevent misuse by cybercriminals.
Despite its public emphasis on privacy, Tornado Cash was consistently exploited for laundering the proceeds of cybercrime.
The post DeFi Lobby Urges Trump Admin to Halt Prosecution of Tornado Cash Developer appeared first on Finance Newso.
