Law & Policy

for anyone who isn't familiar with Roman's case, he is one of the developers who built a privacy tool on ethereum called Tornado Cash.

ethereum is a public blockchain and there are many reasons why you might need a tool like TC. for example, you don't want your employer or friends to know how much money you have. or you want to donate to a political cause anonymously. this all boils down to the same thing: everyone deserves privacy because privacy is a human right.

the DoJ is arguing that because bad actors may have used TC for illicit purposes, the developers should be held liable despite 1) not being able to alter deployed smart contracts 2) not having custody of user funds.

as a developer, this matters because it sets legal precedent for you to be charged for the actions of third parties. for example, say you build a miniapp that lets users earn yield on their stables. if a criminal or illicit organization uses your miniapp, you could be held liable for their actions.

as a user, this matters because 1) fewer crypto apps will be developed due to increased legal risks 2) your right to self-custody is weakened which could lead to future bans 3) privacy tech for public blockchains will never be built as it's effectively deemed illegal.

put simply, Roman's case will make DeFi illegal. it will set precedent for Aave, Uniswap, and every other non-custodial crypto app to be considered illegal in the future on the basis of "money laundering" or illicit use by a third-party. this should scare the shit out of every single person in this industry, especially as political winds may soon blow in another direction. we can't allow these charges to stand.

This is a good simmary by @matthewb about why anyone on Farcaster should even care about Roman or his case

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