Crypto Industry Urges President Trump to Intervene in Tornado Cash Case and Provide Regulatory Clarity

Over 65 U.S. crypto organizations, including major industry associations, DeFi builders, and investors, have sent a joint letter to President Donald Trump, calling for an end to the “regulation by prosecution” approach exemplified by the case of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm.

The industry argues that the prosecution of Storm, who was convicted in August 2025 of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, poses a severe threat to open-source software development and U.S. leadership in digital finance.

Key Demands and Arguments:

• Dismissal of Roman Storm Charges:The central request is for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop the remaining charges against Storm.
  • Signatories argue that Storm’s work was simply writing open-source code, not operating a money service business.
  • They cite recent DOJ guidance that stated prosecutors should not bring unlicensed money transmitting charges against developers of decentralized software.
  • Storm’s jury conviction carries a maximum sentence of five years, and prosecutors have yet to confirm if they will retry him on unresolved money laundering and sanctions violation counts.
• Need for Regulatory & Tax Clarity:The letter goes beyond the Storm case, calling on federal agencies to resolve several long-standing issues that are allegedly pushing developers and businesses overseas:
  • Issuance of long-delayed tax guidance from the Treasury and IRS on complex topics like staking, mining, cross-chain transfers, airdrops, and forks.
  • Confirmation that using crypto as collateral for loans is not a taxable event and that digital asset donations are treated like stock donations.
  • Interim rules from the SEC and CFTC to protect open-source development.
  • Updated FinCEN guidance to reaffirm that noncustodial blockchain software falls outside the Bank Secrecy Act.

The appeal is one of the largest coordinated policy pushes by the crypto sector since the current administration took office, arriving during a period of increased executive focus on digital assets.