Dragonfly Investors Remain Potential DOJ Targets in Tornado Cash Case

Dragonfly Capital, an early investor in Tornado Cash, is contesting Department of Justice charges against Tornado Cash’s co-founders — all while prosecutors insist that they haven't ruled out charges against the crypto venture firm's investors.
What’s the Scoop?
- DOJ Case Against Roman Storm: Roman Storm’s trial began July 14 in Manhattan on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and sanctions violations; one count related to money transmission was dropped.
- Dragonfly’s Data Questioned: The defense moved to exclude Telegram messages from Dragonfly, arguing they were hearsay or lacked context.
- Court Rejects Exclusion: Judge Failla ruled the messages admissible, citing case law on business records used as evidence. The firm says it complied with sanctions guidance in 2020 and disputes prosecutors’ interpretation of internal chats.
Dragonfly invested into PepperSec, Inc., the developers of Tornado Cash, in August of 2020. We made this investment because we believe in the importance of open-source privacy-preserving technology. Prior to our investment, we obtained an outside legal opinion that confirmed that…
— Haseeb >|< (@hosseeb) July 25, 2025