The Crypto Lobby Group, the Defi Education Fund, petitioned the Trump administration to end what it claims to be the “lawless persecution” of open-source software developers, along with Roman Storm, a Crypto Mixing Service Cash service creator.
On an April 28 Letter For the White House Crypto Czar David Sacks, the group encouraged President Donald Trump “to take immediate action to stop the Campaign without Biden-era by the Department of Justice to make the open-source software developmental development.”
The letter specifically cited the storm's persecution, which was charged in August 2023 to assist the launder more than $ 1 billion in crypto by tornado cash. His trial is still set for July, and his fellow charged co-founder Roman Semenov, is large and believed to be in Russia.
The DeFI Education Fund said that in Storm's case, the Department of Justice is trying to hold software developers responsible for how others use their code, which is “not only absurd to principle, but it sets a previous potential to do all the development of Crypto in the United States.”
The group also called for acknowledgment that the prosecution opposed the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) from Trump's first term, establishing self-customial, peer-to-peer protocol developers.
“This kind of legal environment is not just chill innovative – it will be up to it,” they argue. The letter also added that it also “empowers political implementation and puts every open developer resource, regardless of the industry.”
In January, a federal court in Texas decided that the Treasury Overstpped its authority by punishing Tornado Cash.
The stakes cannot be higher
The group thanked Trump for his support of the industry and his stated goal to make America as the “crypto capital of the planet.”
They added, however, that his goal could not be realized if developers were accused of developing tools that provide technology.
“We ask President Trump to protect American software developers, restore legal clarity, and end unlawful DOJ Overreach. The work is not finished, and the stakes are not higher.”
Related: Tornado Cash Dev would have dropped charges after the court said 'Overstepped'
Variant Fund Chief Legal Officer Jake Chervinsky Says The Justice Department's case against the Storm is “a timely remnant of the Biden administration's war in crypto.”
“There is no justification for the law or policy for the prosecution of software developers for launching non-custodial smart contract protocols,” he added.
At the time of writing, the petition attracted 232 signatures from industrial executives and developers, including coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, Paradigaw co-founder Matt Huang, and Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko, among others.
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