Jury Provides Verdict on Roman Storm’s Tornado Cash Trial

Monicah W

In the landmark “US vs Roman Storm” case, the Tornado Cash founder was found guilty of conspiracy to run an unlicensed money transmittal business and innocent of others.

This case has been a landmark battle for privacy rights and the decentralized nature of crypto. Roman Storm argued that he wasn’t responsible for other actors’ usage of his software, and the jury has established a new precedent on the subject.

Tornado Cash Founder Declared

The trial of Roman Storm, founder of Tornado Cash, has been hotly followed by the crypto industry since beginning last month. The proceedings left a bad taste in the community’s mouth, with threats of additional charges against Storm’s witnesses. Today, however, we finally got a definitive ruling from the jury:

So, why has the crypto world been so invested in this case? Simply put, privacy has been a core value of this whole ecosystem, ever since Satoshi Nakamoto made Bitcoin both trustless and decentralized. Storm’s lawyers have fervently argued that Tornado Cash stuck to these principles, never becoming directly complicit in money laundering.

Tornado Cash is a piece of software intended to protect crypto users’ privacy. It mixes tokens from disparate sources together to obscure transaction histories, and criminal organizations certainly employed it for money laundering. However, this is a far cry from directly committing these crimes.

In short, this trial is a test of what sort of decentralized protocols the US legal system will tolerate. This mixed result is somewhat positive for the community. Storm was found innocent of serious crimes like sanctions evasion and money laundering.

From here, it’s unclear what kind of punishment he might receive for the remaining charge, but the maximum sentence is five years.

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Netflix is Making a Series on FTX – Who is Playing Sam Bankman-Fried? 

According to Hollywood rumors, Netflix is planning to make a movie based on the 2022 FTX collapse. Julia Garner is rumored to be finalizing negotiations to play Caroline Ellison, but Bankman-Fried’s actor is less certain.

Several outlets have claimed that Evan Peters, who starred in Netflix’s award-winning series DAHMER, is in talks to play SBF. However, this is presumably even less certain than Garner’s role. Graham Moore, an Oscar-winning screenwriter, is also in talks to write the series.

Netflix’s Take on the FTX Collapse

The FTX collapse in 2022 was one of the most dramatic events in financial history, not just crypto. So, it makes sense that Netflix is planning a movie about it. After all, several studios were fighting to get the film rights the same month that the collapse happened.

Variety recently published rumors about the casting, claiming that Julia Garner is nearly set to play Caroline Ellison.

Garner previously played digital con artist Anna Delvey and received an Emmy nomination for her performance. This relevant experience could add color to her portrayal of another convicted fraudster in Netflix’s FTX adaptation.

However, Garner’s largest role was Ozark, an acclaimed Netflix show that earned three Emmy awards. Variety further claimed that she may become an executive producer on this series, but again, nothing has been finalized.

Netflix will reportedly use a love story as a framing device for the FTX series’ plot, so the actor playing Sam Bankman-Fried will be essential.

Other industry publications have alleged that Evan Peters is in talks for this role. He has also won awards for a previous Netflix production in 2022.

Evan Peters at a 2019 Convention
Evan Peters at a 2019 Convention. Source: Wikipedia

A Netflix adaptation of the FTX story could be highly entertaining, but it’s important to stress that no contracts have been signed. The crypto industry has produced many famous events, after all.

The 2016 Bitfinex hack was allegedly getting a movie adaptation last year, but there hasn’t been an update on the project in around six months.

That is to say, “development hell” is a popular term in the film industry for a reason. Hopefully, the crypto community will soon enjoy Netflix’s dramatized take on the FTX collapse. Today, it’s still in the very early stages.

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PureFi Advances Privacy-Based ZK Compliance Infrastructure for Institutional-Grade DeFi Protocols 

PureFi, a ZK privacy-based compliance infrastructure provider for institutional grade DeFi projects like Panther protocol, Astra DAO and RAILGUN has launched the integration of its advanced AML/KYC framework directly into Uniswap V4’s smart contract. This upgrade addresses critical security gaps by enforcing regulatory compliance at the protocol level, ensuring all transactions undergo verification before execution—effectively closing loopholes exploited by malicious actors. 

Protocol-Level Compliance: Closing Security Gaps at the Core

Unlike traditional security solutions that apply compliance measures solely at the front-end, PureFi’s technology embeds verification into the blockchain’s core logic. This ensures compliance persists even when users bypass interfaces and interact directly with smart contracts, the same method used in the recent Bybit hack when the Lazarus Group was able to swap 8000 mETH using Uniswap. PureFi was created with the aim of enabling tailored, rules-based compliance without compromising the core values of decentralization and privacy.

“Combating on-chain criminality is absolutely essential to not only ensuring privacy sets like RAILGUN can safely grow, it’s also vital to the sustainability of DeFi. PureFi is leading the way in real time analytics to keep you and your funds safe on-chain.” – Railgun Team

Bridging Compliance with Decentralization: PureFi’s Uniswap V4 Integration

Built on Uniswap V4, PureFi Dex demonstrates how decentralized exchanges (DEXs) can align with regulatory standards without compromising decentralization. Its architecture includes:

  • Custom Compliance Routers: Replacing standard Uniswap interfaces with protocol-specific routers.
  • Level Based Verification: A dynamic system scaling checks based on transaction volume:
    • Low-volume: Basic identity and sanctions screening.
    • Mid-volume: Enhanced liveness checks and source-of-funds validation.
    • High-volume: Comprehensive KYC, risk-based wallet scoring, and real-time monitoring.

“We’re not enforcing compliance on DeFi. We’re giving protocols the tools to interact with new user groups — especially institutions — in a secure, privacy-preserving way. And we’re doing it in a way that anticipates future regulation, while respecting today’s decentralization ethos.” – Slava Demchuk, CEO, PureFi Protocol

PureFi vs. Predicate:  The Competitive Edge in DeFi Compliance

PureFi’s framework outperforms alternatives like Predicate through:

  1. Centralized Issuer Reliability: A unified issuer service powered by AMLBot’s compliance engine and integrated KYC/KYT providers ensures consistency. Predicate’s reliance on multiple third-party Operators introduces fragmentation risks.
  2. Hybrid Transaction Security: Combining co-signed transactions with user-managed whitelists reduces delays for institutional traders while maintaining compliance. Whitelisted addresses engaging in suspicious activity are revoked instantly.
  3. Unified KYC/AML Workflow: Unlike Predicate’s disjointed compliance tools, PureFi integrates both checks into a single system.
  4. Progressive Enforcement: Cumulative transaction thresholds mirror centralized exchange (CEX) standards, enabling adaptive compliance.

Features: Enabling Secure, Privacy-Preserving, and Compliant DeFi

🔹 Rule-Based and Customizable

PureFi’s system isn’t about enforcing blanket KYC — it’s about enabling contextual compliance. Protocols and institutions can define flexible rules (e.g., based on transaction volume or risk profiles) and adapt over time. Since global DeFi regulation is still evolving, we mirrored existing CeFi compliance frameworks to provide a usable starting point and future customise the rule-based approach based on the regulations and market demand. 

🔹 PureFi Is Built On SSI Concept

Our initial design was based on the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) principle — putting control in the user’s hands. However, due to practical and legal constraints (like GDPR, which does not recognize users as data controllers in a VASP context), we developed a more robust, on-chain identity system that preserves decentralization while meeting compliance needs. When regulations mature to allow a truly decentralized SSI setup, our infrastructure is ready to support it.

🔹 Zero-Knowledge Proofs at the Core

Privacy is not an afterthought — it’s fundamental. PureFi uses ZK proofs so that once a user is verified, no personal data is revealed to third parties or the DeFi protocol itself. The system simply checks whether a user meets a predefined rule — nothing more, nothing less.

A Blueprint for Future Regulation-Ready DeFi

PureFi Dex is currently operational for UFI/BNB trading pair, offering a blueprint for secure, regulation-ready DeFi platforms. Its modular design allows seamless updates to compliance rules via off-chain configuration, eliminating the need for smart-contract redeployment as regulations evolve.

About PureFi

PureFi specializes in blockchain-native compliance solutions, enabling DeFi protocols, institutions, and traders to meet global regulatory standards without sacrificing decentralization. PureFi DEX enables fully compliant DeFi swaps and liquidity management for Hedge funds, trading desks and institutions.

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