How Berman Amendments Could Save Roman Storm: Uneasy Money

Summary

The clip discusses Roman Storm's delayed Tornado Cash retrial and the legal debate over whether publishing immutable privacy software is protected by the Berman Amendments. Peter Van Valkenburgh argues the prosecution is legally wrong because software is information or speech and Storm never transacted directly with sanctioned parties. Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan add that the case has not meaningfully stopped illicit use and has created a chilling effect on developers.

• Roman Storm's retrial is delayed to April 2027 pending a Rule 29 motion.
• Peter Van Valkenburgh says the SDNY's frying-pan money-transmission theory creates legal uncertainty for non-custodial software.
• He argues the Berman Amendments' statutory information carveout should protect software publication.
• The Samourai Wallet case is contrasted as having worse facts, such as tweets welcoming Russian oligarch users.
• Taylor Monahan and Kain Warwick argue sanctions affected Tornado volumes more than the arrests did, and DPRK use was limited.
• Peter Van Valkenburgh describes Tornado Cash as a large-volume zero-knowledge proof of concept and Zcash as an earlier scientific test.
• The group says prosecuting an immutable protocol developer chills innovation without stopping the smart contracts from running.