Roman Storm Says DOJ Used Debanking to Gut His Tornado Cash Defense

Roman Storm, a Tornado Cash developer, alleges the U.S. Department of Justice has repeatedly subpoenaed his bank accounts — effectively using “debanking” to restrict his access to funds and hamper his legal defense. He publicly called out Lead Bank CEO Jackie Reses after she downplayed debanking’s significance. With a possible retrial looming, Storm says the subpoenas create a concrete financial constraint on hiring counsel and expert witnesses. The DOJ has not responded. Market impact: the dispute highlights another vector of regulatory and enforcement risk for crypto developers and projects (especially privacy-focused protocols), which could weigh on investor sentiment for Ethereum-related assets and broader crypto risk appetite. The industry will watch whether banks and prosecutors normalize account subpoenas as a de facto enforcement tool, potentially chilling developer activity and fundraising.