'Writing code without ill intent is not a crime,' says US DOJ official following Tornado Cash verdict

"Writing code" is not a crime, said one of the U.S. Justice Department's top leads in its criminal division, marking a significant departure in how prosecutors plan to view software developers in the digital asset industry.

Matthew J Galeotti, acting assistant attorney general of the department's Criminal Division, spoke at an event on Thursday hosted by the American Innovation Project — a new group created earlier this week.

"Our view is that merely writing code without ill intent is not a crime," Galeotti said.

"The criminal division will, however, continue to prosecute those who knowingly commit crimes or who aid and abet the commission of crimes, including fraud, money laundering, and sanctions evasion," he added.

Galeotti's speech comes a few weeks after a jury in New York found Tornado Cash creator Roman Storm guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, which was met with disappointment from many in the industry. The DOJ alleged in 2023 that Storm violated a federal statute titled 18 U.S.C. 1960 in operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Galeotti addressed that statute on Thursday.

"Where the evidence shows that software is truly decentralized and solely automates peer-to-peer transactions, and where a third party does not have custody and control over user assets — new 1960(b)(1)(c) charges against a third party will not be approved," he said.

 If there is criminal intent, there could be other charges, he added.

Based on Galeotti's remarks, Storm's case should be dropped, said Jake Chervinsky, chief legal officer at Variant Fund.

"Roman Storm was just convicted on this exact charge under this exact circumstance," Chervinsky said on Thursday in a post on X. "Justice for Roman means dropping the case."

The memo

The DOJ has shifted its stance on crypto over the last few months under a new presidential administration. Under the Biden administration, prosecutors took a more vigorous strategy toward digital assets.

Under the Trump administration, the department released a memo that declared that the agency would not go after litigation or charges that would superimpose "regulatory frameworks on digital assets while President Trump's actual regulators do this work outside the punitive criminal justice framework."

Galeotti echoed the memo's sentiment on Thursday.

"The Deputy Attorney General's memorandum recommits the department to these bedrock principles, the department will not use federal criminal statutes to fashion a new regulatory regime over the digital asset industry," he said.