A federal judge has pushed the retrial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm from October 2026 to April 26, 2027, citing his still-pending motion for acquittal. Storm's defense sought the delay to prepare for a second trial on money laundering and sanctions charges, while prosecutors opposed the adjournment.
US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla has adjourned Roman Storm's retrial to April 26, 2027, moving it back from an October 2026 date as she weighs his motion for acquittal. Storm, a co-founder of the Ethereum-based smart contract privacy protocol Tornado Cash, remains free on bond while the case continues.
Defense cited pending motion, prosecutors objected
Failla said the retrial would be adjourned because of Storm's pending acquittal motion and his related request for a continuance. Storm's lawyers asked for the delay on Aug. 3, saying they needed at least 90 days after a ruling on the acquittal motion to prepare for another trial. Prosecutors opposed the adjournment.
According to Cointelegraph, Storm "My acquittal motion is still sitting there, undecided," said Tuesday on X. Under the revised calendar, expert disclosures will take place in early 2027, with a final pretrial conference set for April 20, six days before the trial is due to begin.
Retrial follows a split verdict
A Manhattan jury convicted Storm in August 2025 of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, an offense carrying up to five years in prison, but deadlocked on two other counts. Storm now faces a second trial on those charges, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate US sanctions, each carrying up to 20 years in prison. He has since moved for acquittal on all three charges, arguing prosecutors failed to prove he intended to help criminals misuse the protocol.
Prosecutors have alleged Storm's role went beyond publishing open-source code, saying he and his co-founders maintained parts of the project, promoted its use and profited from it while aware that illicit funds moved through it. His defense counters that Tornado Cash's immutable contracts operate independently of the developers, who do not control individual transactions.
Storm's legal defense has drawn outside support: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called for sentencing leniency in January 2026, and the effort has raised more than $6.3 million with backing from Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation.
Sources: Cointelegraph, crypto.news
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