Thank you @HesterPeirce for correctly recognizing the nature of DeFi technology, and for your relentless advocacy for creating a more open financial system. The BSA is broken. And, noncustodial DeFi technology is fundamentally incompatible with the CeFi-suited regime. DeFi software providers that do not exercise control or custody over user funds should not be improperly classified as intermediaries. Thank you for your efforts. Read more in Commissioner Peirce's speech here:

SEC Commissioner @HesterPeirce delivered an amazing speech today on financial privacy, which included references to Phil Zimmermann’s Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and Eric Hughes’ A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto. She stated: “Rather than something to be feared, we should embrace these tools’ ability to help humanity live freer lives without unwarranted financial surveillance. People use these tools for bad purposes too, but treating technology as the villain will impinge on legitimate users’ privacy.”

1/ A new blockchain network in 2025 needs to either optimize for a particular application or expand the adjacent possible. Most new blockchains have focused on optimizing for speed; faster block times, higher TPS. That is no longer the bottleneck. @RialoHQ is focused on a complete suite of infra for building apps that speak to the outside world.

💥Is Privacy A Crime? The Trial Against Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm: Everything You Need to Know With @_Enoch @amandatums @tayvano_ @molly0xFFF hosted by @davidzmorris Timestamps: 04:46: What is Tornado Cash? 10:45 Understanding the charges 21:25 Implications for software developers 30:00 Could the UI stop transactions? 32:36 Did North Korea use the front end? 39:16 Could the relayers stop transactions? 42:57 The Government’s first witness: grounds for appeal? 1:00:00 What would happen after a guilty verdict? 1:02:00 Can developers be held liable for writing open source code? 1:07:00 Could free speech be a ground for appeal? 1:11:00 How do we balance the right to privacy with criminal use? 1:20:00 Dragonfly Capital pleads the Fifth 1:23:00 Chainalysis Relayer highlights breadth of charges 1:31:00 Does the Blanche Memo protect developers? 1:37:00 Closing thoughts

This Sunday. Everything you need to know about the criminal trial against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm. With @amandatums @tayvano_ @molly0xFFF @_Enoch hosted by @davidzmorris

Came on Bankless today and broke my silence on the Roman Storm case. A lot to say—important discussion. We also talk Project Crypto, Ethereum's position in the market, and Zora vs Pump 👇

1/ PROJECT CRYPTO A mandate from the SEC Chair for the entire agency to update federal securities regulations so that crypto can flourish in the USA 🇺🇸 This is the start of the biggest push for regulatory clarity in crypto's history. The SEC has 3.5 years to make it a reality.

No verdict in the Storm case today, or this week for that matter. The jury will resume deliberation on Monday. It's dangerous to speculate about what this means, but in general most lawyers think longer is better for the defense. It's not an open and shut case. 🤞 for @rstormsf

Great insight here from @jchervinsky. What stood out to me⬇️ "In federal criminal cases, the jury has to be unanimous to render a verdict. It's either 12-0 guilty, 12-0 not guilty, or else the jury "hangs" and fails to render a decision. One juror who refuses to go along with the other 11 can hang a jury." All it takes is one juror finding Storm a sympathetic defendant to trigger a hung jury — often seen as a win for the defense. Remember: this applies to each individual count. The jury could unanimously convict on one charge, be hung on another, and acquit on a third — resulting in a partial verdict. There's a lot of directions this could go. Here's a recap of the jury makeup: 📌7 women, 5 men 📌Ages: 5 in their 20s, 1 in their 30s, the rest between 40–60 📌Education: 8 with college degrees, 1 with a graduate degree, 3 with high school diplomas

First time waiting for a jury verdict? There are two main events to watch for: 1) the jury sends a note or question for the judge to answer, which might imply what they're thinking or what direction they're leaning — although reading tea leaves is hit or miss 2) the jury says they have a verdict — then everyone gets called back to the courtroom for the verdict to be presented Typically juries deliberate during ordinary court hours, so if there's no verdict by 5 pm, they go home and continue the next day. But that depends on the judge, who can decide to keep the jury after hours if they want. In federal criminal cases, the jury has to be unanimous to render a verdict. It's either 12-0 guilty, 12-0 not guilty, or else the jury "hangs" and fails to render a decision. One juror who refuses to go along with the other 11 can hang a jury. A hung jury ends the trial without a verdict, and then the government has to decide if they want to retry the case all over again. Sometimes they do, sometimes they decide they've had enough and walk away. A hung jury is generally viewed as a win for the defense. If the jury doesn't reach a verdict for a long enough time, or says they're hung, the judge might give an "Allen charge," which is basically an instruction for the jury to try harder. Judges hate when juries hang because of how much time and resources go into a trial. They don't want to run it again if they can help it. Lawyers love to speculate about whether short or long deliberations benefit the defense or prosecution. Generally, most agree that a long deliberation is good for the defense, because it means the jury is analyzing the evidence carefully and not just condemning the defendant based on bad vibes. It also can suggest a holdout juror who refuses to go along with the pack, and a hung jury is a win for the defense. Typically the verdict is binary: either guilty or not guilty on each count in the indictment. The jury doesn't have to explain their reasoning or address any particular factual or legal issue, unless there's a special verdict form that requires them to do so. There are no cameras allowed in federal courtrooms, so all we can do is wait for people at the courthouse to report here on any new developments. Waiting for a verdict is a uniquely painful experience. Just keep breathing....