BITCOIN SEASON 2: The Tornado Cash Trial, Explained
Reporter David Morris breaks down the Tornado Cash trial, Roman Storm's conviction on money transmission charges, and what this means for crypto privacy and open source developers going forward.
Aug 20, 2025
Listen or watch all the new CoinDesk podcast episodes wherever you want.
ABOUT
David Z Morris joins us to talk about his extensive coverage of the Tornado Cash trial. We dive deep into Roman Storm's conviction, the legal precedent for privacy tools, and the chilling effects on open source development in crypto.
Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com
NOTES:
• Jury hung on 2 charges, guilty on 1 MTB charge
• North Korea Lazarus laundered $600M
• No direct OFAC-sanctioned wallets used the service
• Appeal process could take years to resolve
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:41 Why the Tornado Cash Story?
05:06 What is Tornado Cash?
11:15 What does Tornado Cash Do?
14:01 Autonomous Smart Contracts
19:34 Run as a Business
23:57 Profits
24:58 Criminal Charges
31:43 Future of Open Source Development
37:15 Advice for Privacy Devs
42:43 Public Perception
46:09 Journalism & Privacy
49:10 What Happens Now?
👋Bitcoin Season 2 is produced Blockspace Media, Bitcoin’s first B2B publication in Bitcoin. Follow us on Twitter and check out our newsletter for the best information in Bitcoin mining, Ordinals and tech!
Enjoy the show? Check out our website and newsletter by clicking here.
Questions or want to sponsor? hello@blockspace.media
EPISODES
Blockspace: Robinhood Opens AI Trading, IREN’s $1.6B GPU Buy, Hut 8 CEO Beacon Point Update
Robinhood now allows AI to trade for you, and IREN just purchased $1.6 billion worth of GPUs for AI workloads.
May 28, 2026
Blockspace: Pope Leo Calls AI the Tower of Babel, China is Funding Anti-AI FUD, TeraWulf’s 1 GW KY Data Center
Pope Leo has likened AI to the Tower of Babel, and the Chinese government is funding the push against AI data centers...
May 27, 2026
Arthur Hayes says regulation is irrelevant, only fiat liquidity moves bitcoin
Arthur Hayes from Consensus Miami.
May 26, 2026
Blockspace: SpaceX’s $2T IPO, FBI Scams the Scammers, Trump Media Sells Bitcoin
SpaceX’s IPO is gearing up to be the biggest ever, and the FBI lays a honey pot for scammers with a scam token of the...
May 23, 2026
COINDESK SERIES
5 EPISODES
The Policy Protocol
The Policy Protocol is CoinDesk's regulation and policy show. This is your direct line to the crypto legislative engine, where we pull back the curtain on crypto in Washington, D.C. and beyond.
Apr 9, 2026
12 EPISODES
Public Keys at NYSE
Public Keys is a weekly show filmed at the New York Stock Exchange that explores the intersection of traditional finance, macroeconomics and digital assets. Hosted by CoinDesk Senior Anchor, Jennifer Sanasie, the program delivers a deep dive into how crypto is increasingly shaping – and being shaped by – the public markets.
Mar 16, 2026
0 EPISODE
The Mining Pod
Feb 10, 2025
1491 EPISODES
CoinDesk Podcast Network
The top stories and best shows in the blockchain world, delivered daily from the team at CoinDesk.
Dec 20, 2023
