Blanche’s ‘code is not crime’ pledge questioned

Supporters of Tornado Cash dismissed Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche’s comment that “code is not crime” after the Justice Department filed in March 2026 to retry developer Roman Storm using the knowledge theory that contributed to his earlier conviction.

Blanche made the remarks at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas on a panel hosted by Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal. He said developers generally would not face prosecution for simply writing code if they are not third‑party users and do not help or know how others use their software. He also cautioned that being a coder does not automatically shield someone from criminal liability.

Roman Storm was convicted in August 2025 on one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Jurors had deadlocked on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The U.S. Treasury lifted sanctions on Tornado Cash in 2025. Prosecutors asked for a retrial on the undecided counts in March 2026, and Judge Katherine Polk Failla has tentatively scheduled the retrial to start October 26, 2026.

In the original case, prosecutors offered evidence they say shows Storm had knowledge of illicit uses of Tornado Cash, including emails from third parties warning of misuse, Google searches about notable hacks, and sharing media reports with team members. The government has argued those actions are sufficient to establish criminal liability for transmitting illicit funds. Judge Failla has expressed skepticism about parts of the government’s knowledge theory during pretrial proceedings.

Storm’s defense maintains the same facts are consistent with running an open‑source project. At a hearing, defense attorney Brian Klein argued that creating technology for lawful purposes does not become a crime when others misuse it. Klein pointed to legal precedent in which vendors who knew some customers would use ordinary goods unlawfully were not held criminally responsible for downstream conduct.

Members of the crypto community pressed the Justice Department for clarity. Peter Van Valkenburgh of Coin Center asked how the department would define what counts as “helping” or “knowing.” Laurent Salat, a developer of the OXT block explorer, warned that a single email could be used to allege wrongdoing by an operator of a noncustodial service. After Blanche’s comments, Storm posted on X that developers “CAN be prosecuted for your software.”

If convicted at retrial on the remaining counts, Storm faces up to 40 years in prison. The continuing prosecution and the Justice Department’s stated standards leave open legal questions for developers of noncustodial bitcoin tools and other open‑source crypto software.