Opening up a few more spots, reply to join
We’ve got VCs, liquid investors, pure degenerates, and everything in between
(Not a paid group, you can’t buy your way in)
been a brutal few weeks.
lots of rumors circulating and internal drama. im excited to start clearing stuff up, reveal the story, and clear my name, starting with this article.
honestly, mistakes were made. we trusted wrong advisors, mms, and folks going into a bear market. i personally trusted opportunistic administrators who acted as shadow decision makers behind the decisions with their own financial motives.
these same representatives are the ones who broker deals, run financial treasuries, make hires, and "negotiate deals" behind the scenes while letting others take the blame.
founders: please work with reputable firms that don't run their own agendas - their job is paperwork, not negotiations.
movement has deviated far from the dream i had and it hurts me to see it like this. however, im still hopeful for the future of the ecosystem and helping our builders is largely where my current role is. the foundation team has appointed a team to handle operations on the token side and i get to go back to what i love doing.
few bullets:
1) i have not personally OTC'd or sold a penny. movement was raising venture rounds and like other funding rounds, i was the primary fundraiser. any capital formed was via that route for the growth of the movement ecosystem.
2) any MM decisions were approved and supported by the entire foundation team. there were bad parties involved that corrupted the process (by representing both sides to profit) and the team is in the process of investigating.
more to come soon.
3) i do not have any additional projects or advisories. the same "legal" folks are the ones spreading misinformation to the anons. i only have movement + angel bags.
im sure the anons will have fun with this piece and would love nothing more to see movement go to zero. i hope for a future where movement comes back united and stronger than ever.
the core team will still be here with movedrop this week, defi incentives kicking off a vibrant ecosystem, and movement NFTs hitting all time highs.
gmove.
My name is Roman Storm, and I am one of the founders of Tornado Cash, a non-custodial privacy protocol.
I am being prosecuted for writing open-source code that enables private crypto transactions in a completely non-custodial manner. This prosecution represents a terrifying criminalization of privacy.
The charges against me threaten to criminalize software development itself. If successful, the implications could extend far beyond the crypto industry, impacting every software developer. I face up to 45 years in prison on charges including operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and sanctions evasion.
This case has already had a chilling effect on developers working on software tools. Recently, a developer filed a lawsuit against the DOJ, seeking relief because my case has made them fearful of releasing new software.
https://t.co/kkhXrxJVnI
Additionally, there is significant confusion around the 1960 charge (operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business), as different government agencies have conflicting interpretations of the law.
https://t.co/BRKR0pWTaH
“This prosecution threatens to criminalize software development itself,” said Keri Axel of Waymaker LLP, my legal counsel.
American entrepreneur and politician @VivekGRamaswamy commented, “You can’t go after the developers of code. What you actually need to do is go after individual bad actors who are breaking the laws that already exist.”
https://t.co/WTn1weyoZO
Multiple amicus briefs have been filed in support of my defense by the DeFi Education Fund (@fund_defi), Coin Center (@coincenter), and Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn):
https://t.co/467XKatDuP
https://t.co/68p4WcMIP9
https://t.co/kzdZ39Qvrr
The 5th Circuit Court has already ruled that Tornado Cash sanctions were unlawful:
https://t.co/Vp4FACqnn8
However, the DOJ has dismissed this ruling as irrelevant:
https://t.co/tna6p4Nvnr
My trial is set for April 14, 2025.