Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm’s Retrial Delayed to April 2027
US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla postponed the retrial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm to April 2027, granting the defense additional time to prepare following his motion for acquittal.
Retrial Indefinitely Postponed Amid Acquittal Motion
Roman Storm, a co-founder and developer of Tornado Cash, will not face retrial until April 26, 2027, after US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla postponed proceedings originally scheduled for October 2026. The delay stems from Storm’s pending motion for acquittal and his corresponding request for a continuance to prepare for another trial.
Defense Strategy Gains Temporary Victory
Storm’s legal team filed the continuance request on August 3rd, arguing they required at least 90 days following the court’s decision on the acquittal motion to adequately prepare for retrial. Though the prosecution objected to the postponement, Judge Failla ultimately granted the delay. Storm contends that prosecutors have failed to prove he intended to enable criminal abuse of Tornado Cash, forming the crux of his acquittal motion that remains pending before the court.
Conviction and Ongoing Proceedings
The retrial will address charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate US sanctions—counts on which jurors previously failed to reach consensus. However, Storm was already convicted in August 2025 by a Manhattan jury on the charge of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. That conviction stands, though the two conspiracy charges remain unresolved.
The extended timeline provides Storm additional breathing room in a high-stakes legal battle that has drawn significant attention from the crypto community. The case raises fundamental questions about developer liability for how users employ privacy-focused tools, particularly as regulators worldwide intensify enforcement against cryptocurrency mixing services. For the crypto market, the outcome could establish critical precedent on developer liability and regulatory treatment of privacy tools, potentially shaping how exchanges and protocols approach compliance going forward.
Source: US District Court, via Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.