Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm's retrial delayed to April 2027

U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla has delayed the retrial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm to April 26, 2027, while his pending motion for acquittal is considered. Storm was convicted in August 2025 of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, but the jury deadlocked on money laundering and sanctions evasion charges. The defense is highlighting that Chainalysis, which helped build the government's case, operated as a Tornado Cash relayer in 2022.

Storm retrial April 2027

• ▪The delay of Roman Storm's retrial to April 26, 2027, was granted at Roman Storm's own request rather than by prosecutors, who had previously pushed for an October 2026 start date.
• ▪Judge Katherine Polk Failla set the deadline for government expert disclosures on February 5, 2027, defense disclosures on March 5, 2027, and Daubert and in limine motions on March 30, 2027.
• ▪U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla ordered that the retrial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm will begin on April 26, 2027, in the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in New York.
• ▪Judge Katherine Polk Failla scheduled a final pretrial conference for Roman Storm's case on April 20, 2027, and excluded time under the Speedy Trial Act through April 26, 2027.

Pending acquittal motion

• ▪Roman Storm's retrial was delayed while Judge Katherine Polk Failla weighs Roman Storm's pending Rule 29 motion for acquittal, which was filed in September 2025.
• ▪Roman Storm's defense attorneys argued that a recent Supreme Court ruling in a copyright case against internet service provider Cox, which found Cox not liable for customer piracy, could impact Roman Storm's case.

August 2025 conviction

• ▪In August 2025, a jury convicted Roman Storm of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business but deadlocked on charges of money laundering and sanctions evasion.
• ▪Roman Storm has yet to be sentenced on the August 2025 conviction, while a guilty verdict on the two unresolved charges could carry a maximum sentence of 40 years.

Chainalysis relayer operations

• ▪Court documents showed that blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, which helped prosecutors build the case against Roman Storm, operated as a Tornado Cash relayer in 2022 to earn fees.
• ▪During Roman Storm's first trial, the jury never heard about Chainalysis's relayer operations because one Chainalysis employee planned to invoke the Fifth Amendment and another never took the stand.

DOJ prosecution strategy contradictions

• ▪The Department of Justice proceeded with Roman Storm's retrial despite stating, weeks after his conviction, that it would not bring money-transmission charges against developers of decentralized, non-custodial software.
• ▪Roman Storm publicly criticized the Southern District of New York prosecution, stating that the deadlocked jury on the two most serious counts shows the case is about setting an example.