Crypto Week Snafu Back on Track — For Now; Inside Roman Storm’s First Day on Trial
House GOP regroups after thirteen Republicans sink key vote over CBDC concerns
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!
What you’ll read: Crypto Week resumes with a procedural vote redo on crypto bills in the House, highlights from opening statements in the Roman Storm trial, and a deep dive into legislation and regulation with Variant on the podcast.
House leadership has scheduled another procedural vote for this afternoon after the initial attempt to bring three key pieces of crypto legislation to the floor failed Tuesday in a 196-223 vote, temporarily throwing a wrench into House Republicans’ “Crypto Week.”
Twelve Republicans (thirteen if you count Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who voted no to allow for a motion to reconsider) broke with their party, citing concerns that the GENIUS Act could provide a so-called “back door” for the creation of a central bank digital currency.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was among those who opposed the rule, posting on X:
“I just voted NO on the Rule for the GENIUS Act because it does not include a ban on Central Bank Digital Currency and because Speaker Johnson did not allow us to submit amendments to the GENIUS Act. President Trump included a ban on CBDC in his January 23rd executive order and Congress must also include the ban on CBDC in the GENIUS Act.”
But despite those objections, the GENIUS Act includes language that prohibits the Federal Reserve from creating a CBDC intended for use by the general public. One section clarifies that the bill “shall not be construed” to expand the Fed’s authority to offer services directly to the public — meaning it cannot authorize digital wallets, personal accounts, or any infrastructure resembling a CBDC.
The Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act — the third crypto bill set for a House vote — is also aimed at addressing those concerns.
Some dissenting members also raised issues over the legislative process, arguing that the GENIUS Act — the Senate’s stablecoin bill — should have been packaged together with the House’s market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, rather than being passed as a standalone measure.
Late Tuesday night, President Trump posted on Truth Social that after a “short discussion” with eleven of the twelve Republicans who voted no, all had agreed to change their votes to yes. What was said in the meeting remains unclear, but it came after hours of closed-door meetings and phone calls involving House GOP leaders and their Senate counterparts.
Tuesday’s failed rule also stalled action on a broader package that includes the Defense appropriations bill and Trump’s $9.4 billion rescissions request — a separate White House priority that Congress must act on before Friday.
The next procedural vote is scheduled for 12:20 p.m. ET today.
Inside the Courtroom: Roman Storm’s Trial Begins
After a day and a half of jury selection, opening arguments in the federal criminal trial against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm got underway Tuesday afternoon in a Manhattan courtroom.
Here’s what happened.
Jury Selection: A Glimpse Into Storm’s Jury of Peers
Ahead of opening statements, the jury selection process concluded with seven women and five men, representing a range of educational backgrounds: one juror holds a master’s degree, eight have college degrees, and three graduated high school. Notably, half of the jury is under the age of 31 — which some believe could work in Storm’s favor, given that younger jurors may be more familiar with crypto, software development, and blockchain technology. Four alternate jurors were also selected.
One point of concern for the defense, shared with Crypto in America ahead of trial, was the jury’s overall level of understanding of crypto and blockchain — and how that might ultimately influence the outcome.
DOJ: Tornado Cash Was a “Washing Machine for Dirty Money”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mosley opened for the government by painting Tornado Cash as a criminal operation disguised as a crypto mixer.
“Tornado Cash was a giant washing machine for dirty money,” Mosley told the jury, describing Storm and his co-founders — referred to repeatedly as “co-conspirators” — as the ones running the machine.
“He was running the laundromat. He had the keys to the front door. He paid the gas and electric bills.”
According to the government, Storm profited from Tornado Cash as a business and cashed out profits he made through another account to cover his tracks.
Mosley said Storm “had choices” and could have “turned off the switch” or redesigned the software to make it less attractive to criminals but instead continued laundering funds because it made him money.
“That is called money laundering, and that is a crime,” he said.
The Defense: “He Built a Tool — Not a Criminal Conspiracy”
Storm’s attorney, Keri Curtis Axel of Waymaker, countered the government’s analogies with technical detail. Using visual exhibits, she walked the jury through how Tornado Cash works — from how Ethereum transactions are processed, to how blockchain nodes operate, to how funds can be publicly traced using Etherscan.
Axel argued that Storm did not enter into any criminal agreement, nor did he help criminals launder money.
“Roman didn’t conspire with criminals — he built a legitimate product that was used by bad people.”
She also emphasized the broader principle at stake:
“A right we take for granted is financial privacy.”
Axel explained that blockchain transactions are publicly visible by default — and likened it to putting your entire bank statement online, for anyone to see.
“People could figure out where you shop, where you eat, your favorite stores — even where your kids go to school.”
She argued that Tornado Cash was designed to solve that visibility problem, not facilitate crime.
“What the government has to prove is that Roman had a criminal agreement for a criminal purpose. But the evidence will show that his agreement…was to build a protocol and make it freely available to the public.”
A source close to the defense told Crypto In America they believe the government failed to support its central argument in opening statements.
“Despite charging conspiracy, the government’s opening statement made no mention of Roman willingly helping or even being in contact with bad actors.”
Instead, the prosecution focused on what Storm didn’t do — like failing to shut the project down.
The defense says that sounds more like negligence, not criminal conspiracy.
First Witness: A Scam Victim Named “Katie”
The prosecution’s first witness was a woman referred to as “Katie” Lin, who testified that she transferred more than $190,000 of her life savings to a scammer who contacted her through WhatsApp in 2021.
Supporters of Storm were quick to point out the parallel: WhatsApp, like Tornado Cash, is a neutral tool — and just because it was used by a scammer, should the developers behind it be held criminally responsible?
As of now, it’s unclear how Katie’s testimony directly ties Storm to the fraud. But the prosecution appears to be building a broader narrative about Tornado Cash’s role in criminal schemes.
The trial continues today at 9:00 a.m. ET.
A Conversation with Variant’s Jesse Walden & Jake Chervinsky
In our latest episode, we chat with Variant’s Founder and Managing Partner Jesse Walden and Chief Legal Officer Jake Chervinsky.
Variant’s known for backing some of the biggest names in crypto like Uniswap, Phantom, Polygon, and others.
In keeping with the theme of Crypto Week, we discuss how crypto regulations have evolved over the past few years and explore the opportunities that could arise if the rules become more industry-friendly. We dig into decentralization, token holder rights, the future of ICOs, challenges facing DeFi, market structure dynamics, and what’s next for crypto policy in the U.S.
Watch on all platforms here.
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"Can't we all just get along?"
~ Rodney King, 1992.