Federal prosecutors rested their case Thursday in the criminal trial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, as the defense began presenting its side with testimony from a prominent Ethereum developer.
Preston Van Loon, an Ethereum core developer, took the stand as the first witness for the defense. Speaking in Manhattan federal court, Van Loon described Tornado Cash as a “privacy tool for Ethereum” and said he used the service in 2019 or 2020 to transfer 43 ETH — worth over $160,000 today — citing concerns over personal safety.
“If hackers know the scope of my assets, I can become a target,” Van Loon told the jury, according to reporting from Inner City Press.
Storm is facing charges of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and violating U.S. sanctions laws through his work on Tornado Cash — a crypto mixing protocol that the U.S. Treasury has linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
On cross-examination, prosecutors focused on whether Van Loon had personal ties to Storm and asked why he hadn’t used platforms like Coinbase instead. The defense is expected to call additional witnesses, including two or three doctors and possibly an expert from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
Storm’s legal team also filed a request Thursday to modify the jury instructions, asking the judge to clarify the relationship between Tornado Cash and the North Korean-linked hacking group.
If convicted, Storm could face a lengthy prison sentence. Judge Katherine Failla previously referenced other recent crypto cases, including that of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who received a 25-year sentence earlier this year.
Storm began the second week of his trial in a Manhattan federal court with a sharp rebuttal to prosecution testimony. His lawyer, David Patton, pushed back on claims made by Hanfeng Ling, who told the jury she lost crypto in a 2021 “pig butchering” scam and believed the funds passed through Tornado Cash.
But Storm’s defense now says it found no blockchain evidence linking Ling’s stolen funds to the service. Ethereum security expert Taylor Monahan echoed that on X over the weekend, writing: “There’s no Tornado Cash. I have no clue what they were tracing.”
Monahan added that scammers “do not use Tornado Cash,” questioning the government’s investigative trail. Ling relied on a so-called crypto recovery service that apparently pointed to Tornado Cash, but its accuracy is now under scrutiny.
The trial, which began last week, is drawing growing attention from the crypto community. Storm, arrested in 2023, faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all counts. He has pleaded not guilty.
The defense also failed to block testimony from a government expert who claims Storm could have implemented smart contract features to deter criminals from using the platform. Judge Katherine Failla denied the motion on Sunday, allowing AnChain.AI investigator Philip Werlau to testify that a “user registry smart contract” was technically feasible—even if never actually used in practice.
