Crypto Lobby Urges Trump to End Prosecution of Open-Source Developers

The DeFi Education Fund has petitioned the Trump administration to halt the ongoing prosecution of open-source software developers, including Roman Storm, the creator of Tornado Cash. In a letter addressed to White House crypto czar David Sacks, the group argued that the current DOJ actions—deemed a 'lawless campaign'—impose criminal liability on developers for how others use their code, potentially chilling innovation across the crypto industry in the United States. The petition further contends that the prosecution contradicts earlier FinCEN guidance from Trump’s first term, which stated that developers of self-custodial, peer-to-peer protocols are not money transmitters. Highlighting the stakes involved, the letter references Storm’s pending trial set for July (though no specific date was provided) and notes that his co-founder, Roman Semenov, remains at large in Russia. The petition, which has already attracted 232 signatures from industry figures including Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko, praises Trump’s past support for the crypto industry while warning that continued legal overreach could freeze innovation. This development follows a recent Texas federal court ruling that questioned the Treasury’s authority in sanctioning Tornado Cash.