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The DeFi Education Fund, a research and advocacy organization, has petitioned the Trump administration to intervene in the prosecution of Roman Storm, the Tornado Cash co-founder facing criminal charges. According to an April 28 letter directed to White House crypto czar David Sacks, the group urged President Trump to “take immediate action to discontinue the Biden-era Department of Justice’s lawless campaign to criminalize open-source software development.” They argued that Storm’s case is part of a broader overreach that “threatens the very foundation of technological innovation” in the United States. Storm, whom the U.S. Department of Justice charged in August 2023, has been accused of helping launder over $1 billion through Tornado Cash, a popular crypto mixing service. He faces charges of conspiracy to facilitate money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and violating U.S. sanctions, offenses that could carry a combined sentence of up to 45 years if convicted. As previously reported by crypto.news, last year Storm filed a motion to dismiss all charges, arguing that Tornado Cash was an immutable, open-source protocol beyond his control. However, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied the motion in September 2024, ruling that the indictment met the legal threshold to proceed to trial. A subsequent bid for reconsideration was also rejected in February 2025. In their letter, the DeFi Education Fund argued that the Department of Justice is pushing an “unprecedented theory” by attempting to hold developers liable for how others use their code, even when they have “no control over those third parties or user assets.” They warned that if left unchecked, this legal approach “freezes” open-source development altogether. The group also pointed out that Storm’s prosecution appears to contradict earlier Treasury Department guidance issued during Trump’s first term , which clarified that developers of self-custodial, peer-to-peer protocols are not considered money transmitters under federal law. “We in the blockchain industry have relied on that guidance in good faith since 2019,” the letter stated. Further, the letter warned that beyond Storm’s individual case, the DOJ’s actions create a legal environment that “empowers politically-motivated enforcement” and puts every open-source developer at risk, regardless of industry. “No one writing code in good faith should have to fear prosecution for the actions of strangers,” the letter said, arguing that innovation in fields like financial technology, artificial intelligence, and even healthcare could be stifled if developers are held liable for how their tools are used. Achieving the goal of making America the “crypto capital of the planet,” they said, requires protecting the very builders who create the underlying technology. “We ask President Trump to protect American software developers, restore legal clarity, and end this unlawful DOJ overreach,” the group wrote, adding that the stakes “could not be higher” for the future of crypto innovation in the U.S. Meanwhile, support for the petition is growing, with more than 253 signatures as of press time from various industry leaders, including Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko, Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang, and Bankless co-founder Ryan Sean Adams.

DOJ seeks 20-year prison sentence for Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky Alex Mashinsky, founder and former CEO of the defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network, faces the possibility of spending the next 20 years in prison - if the sentencing recommendation submitted by the U.S. Department of Justice is adopted by the court. In the recommendation submitted late Monday, the Justice Department urged the court to sentence him to 20 years in prison, saying that Mashinsky's crime was a "deliberate and well-planned" fraud that caused nearly $7 billion in customer losses and caused financial damage to thousands of people. (CoinDsek)

The U.S. Department of Justice Seeks to Sentence Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky to 20 Years in Prison

Crypto industry leaders write to Trump administration, calling for an end to prosecutions of software developers Led by DeFi Education Fund, more than 70 crypto industry professionals jointly wrote a letter to David Sacks, the White House AI and Crypto Affairs Director, urging the Trump administration to end the Department of Justice's "excessive enforcement" against open source software developers such as Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm in order to protect American developers and achieve the goal of building the United States into the "global crypto capital." (The Block)

The Ekaterina Djanova case resembles a financial thriller where crypto, organized crime, and judicial loopholes intertwine. While this 38-year-old woman, nicknamed “the shadow banker”, has been languishing in prison for two years, a legal twist could set her free. Behind this possible legal escape lie burning questions: how does the crypto system facilitate large-scale money laundering? And how far does digital impunity extend? Ekaterina Djanova is not an ordinary cybercriminal. Her network, named Darkbank, operated like a crime start-up. On the Darknet, the platform offered turnkey services: converting cryptos into anonymous cash, fragmenting transactions, and erasing blockchain traces. A macabre innovation, modeled on the standards of legal fintech, but dedicated to European drug traffickers. Investigators identified 68 collection points in France, mainly in Île-de-France. These physical hubs, often storefront businesses, served to materialize virtual money. For €3.2 million laundered, Darkbank charged fees of 15 to 30% – a business model as lucrative as it was risky. “It’s the Uberization of laundering,” jokes a prosecutor speaking anonymously. Yet, despite the weight of evidence, the judicial case wobbles. Djanova’s defense exploits a procedural loophole: the absence of formalization of a specific investigative act. A technical detail but enough for the Court of Cassation to review her release. The French judiciary, used to traditional cases, seems overwhelmed by the fluidity of crypto crimes. If Ekaterina Djanova regains her freedom, it will not be due to presumed innocence but a meticulous legal battle. Her lawyers obtained the referral of her request for release to the Paris investigation chamber, citing procedural irregularities. A bold strategy that reveals the limits of criminal law facing the technicality of digital crimes. The consequences could be heavy. Djanova, described as a crime influencer by Interpol, has an international contact book. Her release might paralyze the investigation, already weakened by encrypted communications and blockchain opacity. “She knows the algorithms better than our IT experts,” admits an investigator. Worse, such a scenario would set a precedent. Criminal organizations could exploit this loophole to dodge prosecution. The message would be clear: with enough resources and crypto expertise, even the most sophisticated networks can play with system weaknesses. The Djanova case illustrates the wide gap between technological innovation and legal framework. Cryptos, designed to evade controls, remain an ideal playground for organized crime. Meanwhile, authorities navigate blindly, balancing legislative adaptations and a technical race against time. If Ekaterina Djanova gets out of prison, it won’t be a victory for justice but a temporary admission of powerlessness. Her story mostly reminds us of an obvious truth: in the shadow of bitcoin , an invisible war is being waged. A war where every regulatory advance is countered by a new concealment protocol. And as long as this fragile balance exists, Darkbanks will continue to thrive.