In December of last year, we asked for the assistance of the ENS community to help meet legal costs related to a case adjacent to eth.limo and the public service it provides to the Web3 ecosystem and beyond. At the time, we were unable to share details about why we needed help but we assured the ENS community that we would provide a full account of events as soon as possible. Here it is:
In August 2024, our lives changed when two FBI agents knocked on the front door of Ben Gibbs, our co-founder and CEO, to hand-deliver a subpoena for testimony and documents (they sent another subpoena by email to our other co-founder Sam Gibbs). At this point, we became embroiled in the federal criminal investigation in the Roman Storm / Tornado Cash case.
This all came out of the blue with no warning. And the year that followed pushed us to our limit. In the process of responding to these compulsory requests, Ben received a subpoena to testify at Romanās criminal trial.
Ben was required to testify in a case that involved critical Web3 issues, and which came with immense stress that resonates to this day. Instead of joyfully celebrating the birth of Benās first child in the summer of 2024, a tsunami of costly legal proceedings followed.
After receiving a trial subpoena from the government, in July 2025, Ben testified as a witness in Romanās criminal trial. As someone who has dedicated years to creating and promoting an open-source and privacy-first service in the form of eth.limo, having to be associated with a prosecution implicating these values was a grueling experience for both Ben and the team (0/10, would not recommend).
As far as we know, this is the first time that ENS has been discussed in a US Federal criminal trial.
Benās testimony underscored the benefits of decentralized technology, highlighted the values of Web3 and reinforced the importance of freedoms for developers and those operating in the decentralized internet. He emphasized eth.limoās commitment to privacy and explained that we do not log user IP addresses.
But Ben didnāt want to be a part of this. Subpoenas are legal obligations. And not complying with them is against the law.
eth.limo is a public good. It connects Web2 to Web3. At its core, eth.limo is neutral code. Code is speech. Last month, a senior DOJ government official said āthat merely writing code, without ill-intent, is not a crime. Innovating new ways for the economy to store and transmit value and create wealth, without ill-intent, is not a crime.ā We agree.
Roman was convicted on one count, and the jury did not reach a unanimous verdict on two other counts.
As a result, Roman avoided conviction on two counts that would have each carried sentences of up to 20 years in federal prison. However, Roman currently faces up to five years in prison, which conviction we understand he intends to challenge.
We are bitterly disappointed. We do not align or agree with the governmentās position, and this remains the case to this day.
We are mindful that the tensions were felt far and wide as a result of the Tornado Cash trial. After the trial concluded, and as noted above, the government seems to be taking a different policy approach to decentralized code. It may turn out that these events result in a force for good for developers and the broader ecosystem by leading in legislative and enforcement policy changes that pave the way towards a more principled and informed view from society and the US legal system.
We never wanted a role in this case. Certainly Roman did not either. The legal proceedings will play out and dictate whether the open foundations of the internet and its founding visions persist,
We understand that federal prosecutors have not said whether they will attempt to retry Roman on the two counts where the jury did not reach a unanimous verdict. We do not know if we will receive another subpoena.
The costs, both human and financial, are already sky-high and as this case drags on, those costs will continue to mount. We thank the ENS community for their generosity in supporting eth.limoās battle on the frontline of Web3 and we respectfully request that they continue to share the financial burden.
This case, which is proving to be a pivotal moment in the survival and evolution of decentralized and privacy-focused systems, has already required around $250,000 of funds to be deployed from the ENS ecosystem. Despite the verdict, the case is not yet over and the fees associated with fighting the good fight continue to accumulate.
At present, we have no way to anticipate expected future legal costs associated with this specific set of legal requests, nor are we able to forecast any additional legal matters or proceedings that may arise as a result of maintaining eth.limo as a public good. This has the indirect effect of limiting our ability to grow and scale the eth.limo service, as well as to pursue future plans relating to additional integrations and roadmap efforts.
Without additional funding, protecting basic freedoms could very likely consume our remaining financial resources, leaving us without the ability to continue to operate eth.limo as a public good. There is also a bigger picture to consider: this case is not simply an eth.limo matter, itās a priority for all of us in the community. Itās our collective responsibility to put forward the most informed, well-articulated positions about the benefits of a free and open internet. This comes with a cost and we ask for the generous help of the ENS ecosystem again, to meet these financial obligations.
eth.limo didnāt ask to be part of this war, but the road ahead is clear: we will advocate for Web3 and the future of fundamental rights fiercely and tirelessly because we believe in it, and are left with no other choice. And we will do so even if the costs, both personal and material, are considerable.
Privacy is a human right.
We remain committed to standing up for our principles, and we hope others in our industry and beyond will join us in this good fight.