Although the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Service (FinCEN) stopped crack

美国监管层在罗曼·斯托姆案中释放矛盾信号

在去中心化混币服务Tornado Cash的联合创始人指出，尽管财政部金融犯罪执法网络（FinCEN）已退出计划中的对加密货币混币服务的打击行动，但司法部检察官仍在继续追究他的责任后，美国监管机构在此案中发出了相互矛盾的信号。在FinCEN撤回相关举措后的短短一天内，曼哈顿联邦南区法院（SDNY）的联邦检察官提出了新的论点，试图在法庭上维持针对斯托姆的案件。

FinCEN撤回两项未完成的混币规则提案

周二发布在美国《联邦公报》公开检查网站上的通知由金融犯罪执法网络副主管吉米·L·柯比签署，确认监管机构正放弃2023年的一项提案。该提案旨在根据《美国爱国者法案》第311条，将国际可转换虚拟货币（CVC）的混合行为定义为“主要洗钱关注的交易类别”。

监管机构还发布了另一份通知，撤销了2020年12月的一项单独提案。该提案原意要求银行和货币服务企业验证并保留涉及非托管钱包或位于美国银行法规覆盖范围之外的外国平台的交易记录及身份验证信息，且金额超过3,000美元。如果同一实体在24小时内的单笔或多笔交易总额超过10,000美元，银行和货币服务企业将被要求向FinCEN发出警报。

FinCEN explained in its withdrawal notice that it decided to hold on after receiving warnings that the 2023 proposal's definition of "mixed" behavior was too broad. The notice noted that an "overly broad mixed definition of CVC" may have a chilling effect on legal activities and place a heavy reporting burden on regulated agencies.

The current definition, previously criticized by the Coin Center as "unusually broad," brings dedicated mixed-currency services and ancillary functions such as pooling funds from multiple users, splitting transfers into separate transactions, enabling one-time wallets, and adding user-initiated delays to prevent deposits and withdrawals from matching in time) within the same regulatory scope. Coinbase also pointed to the lack of any dollar threshold in its January 2024 opinion letter when it opposed the same FinCEN proposal.

The agency said that while it agreed with the July 2025 report of the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets that "legitimate users of digital assets may use currency mixers to achieve financial privacy when conducting transactions over public blockchains," it also believes that illegal actors do use currency mixers.

Since these proposals were never finalized, the withdrawal would have little impact on financial institutions. The exchange will continue to operate in accordance with its Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer (KYC) rules.

SDNY prosecutors continue to pursue conviction of Roman Storm

Despite withdrawing the proposal, prosecutors in the Southern District Court are continuing to move forward with their personal case against Roman Storm. In an Oct. 5 letter to U.S. District Judge Katherine Pole Faila, prosecutors sought additional grounds for jurisdiction on the two charges she still faces.

Storm himself released the document and wrote on social media X: "The Justice Department is doing everything possible to hunt me down. They really want to see me convicted." Storm has been detained for at least 1,139 days since his arrest.

The SDNY prosecutor's argument builds on the precedent established by the September 25, 2025 appeal decision in the case of United States v. Strinoff. In that case, the Circuit Court for the District of Colombia ruled that jurisdiction was appropriate for the hybrid operator because transfers to and from the service "facilitated the ability of the [hybrid] to launder all user funds" and that the hybrid "served customers in the jurisdiction." Prosecutors also cited trial testimony that depositor Shakeeb Ahmed used Tornado Cash from his Manhattan apartment.

What is the future of Roman Storm?

According to SDNY, Storm was convicted in August 2025 of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmission business that diverted more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The jury failed to reach consensus on charges of money laundering and evasion of sanctions. Prosecutors chose to reopen the charges, which Judge Fayla has set as April 26, 2027; Storm's motion for not guilty filed in September 2025 remains pending after oral arguments in April. If convicted on the remaining two charges, he could face up to 40 years in prison.

This timing highlights the real tension in Washington's stance on crypto privacy issues. FinCEN, the rule-maker, is retreating, while SDNY, the prosecutor, is putting further pressure on it. The Justice Department has tried to reconcile this conflict: In August 2025, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galotti said the department "acts as a prosecutor, not a regulatory agency" and would not treat non-malicious code writing as a crime.

For now, the regulatory crackdown has stopped and criminal cases are still being heard.