Crypto funding agency Paradigm has pledged $1.25 million for Twister Money Co-founder’s Roman Storm’s authorized battle within the US.
Twister Money Creator Beneficial properties Assist From Paradigm
Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang introduced that the agency will donate $1.25 million to assist Roman Storm battle allegations of money-laundering. Storm’s subsequent trial is scheduled on April 14.
Paradigm shall be donating $1.25M to assist fund Roman Storm’s authorized protection
The prosecution’s case threatens to carry software program builders criminally accountable for the dangerous acts of third events, which might have a chilling impact in crypto and past
We should stand with @rstormsf https://t.co/OvPHNYeGFD
— Matt Huang (@matthuang) January 28, 2025
Storm expressed gratitude in direction of Paradigm’s help, stating “Huge gratitude to Paradigm and the whole crew for standing behind me throughout this difficult time. Your help means the world, not simply to me, however to each developer preventing for equity and innovation. Thanks for believing in me and defending the ideas that matter!”
Storm, and Roman Semenov, was charged in 2023 with allegations of “knowingly facilitating” the laundering of over $1 billion in illicit funds, together with cash linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. If convicted, Storm might resist 45 years in jail.
Storm has defended his stance, arguing that he’s being criminalized for writing open-source code that permits personal transactions. Storm referred to as the case a “terrifying criminalization of privateness” in his latest X submit.
My identify is Roman Storm, and I’m one of many founders of Twister Money, a non-custodial privateness protocol.
I’m being prosecuted for writing open-source code that allows personal crypto transactions in a very non-custodial method. This prosecution represents a terrifying…
— Roman Storm 🇺🇸 🌪️ (@rstormsf) January 22, 2025
It’s price noting, that this month, a US court docket dominated that Twister Money shouldn’t be thought-about “property” topic to sanctions. Nonetheless, a New York court docket rejected Storm’s try to dismiss the fees, citing that some elements of Twister Money had been nonetheless beneath developer management after 2020.
Many others from the crypto business together with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin have come out in help of Storm and have even urged former US President Donald Trump to intervene, particularly after Trump pardoned Silk Street creator Ross Ulbricht. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy additionally condemned the case, stating, “You may’t go after the builders of code”, as he emphasised that the prosecutors should as a substitute take motion on particular person dangerous actors who break the legal guidelines.
