Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Roman Storm's Tornado Cash retrial has slid to April 2027, and Peter Van Valkenburgh, executive director of Coin Center, lays out the core argument for why he thinks the prosecution got it wrong: that software is speech protected by the Berman Amendments, and that prosecuting an immutable protocol's developer punishes the wrong person.
Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan add the personal context of knowing the Tornado Cash team before the arrests, and the group covers the "a frying pan doesn't hold the heat, but it transmits the heat" money-transmission theory, the Samourai Wallet comparison, and the chilling effect on developers two years on.
Hosts:
👉 Kain Warwick - Host of Uneasy Money and Founder of Infinex and Synthetix - https://x.com/kaiynne
👉 Taylor Monahan - Co-host of Uneasy Money and Security Expert - https://x.com/tayvano_
Guest:
👉 Peter Van Valkenburgh - Executive Director of Coin Center - https://x.com/valkenburgh
This clip is from a longer conversation on Iran sanctions, stablecoin regulation, the SEC's proposed ICO exemptions, and Trump naming Hyperliquid. Full episode here: youtu.be/9WGBQD3my3Y
We go live every Wednesday - subscribe to catch it live.
👉 Visit 1inch to swap tokenized securities, crypto and more. Simple. Secure. Self-custodial. Whatever asset you’re buying - swap it at unchainedcrypto.com/go/1inch-yt.
Chapters:
🎯 00:00 Acquittal or delay: Roman Storm's retrial slides to April 2027
🍳 01:39 The 'frying pan' theory prosecutors used for money transmission
🗽 03:17 The Berman Amendments: why sanctions can't gag speech
🔍 05:30 Comparing Tornado Cash to the Samurai Wallet prosecution
⚖️ 10:21 Why Van Valkenburgh calls this a misallocation of resources
🔐 13:15 Hero, not villain: the case for Roman Storm
❄️ 13:40 The chilling effect on developers, two years later
🤝 16:00 Kain remembers meeting the Tornado Cash team pre-launch
💭 20:51 Closing thoughts: wishing for a better path forward
_______________________________________________________
#bitcoin #ethereum #crypto #cryptocurrencies
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subscribe to our channel!
Website → unchainedcrypto.com
Unchained Daily Newsletter (FREE!)→ unchainedcrypto.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Unchained X → https://x.com/unchained_pod
Apple → podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1123922160?ls=1
Spotify → open.spotify.com/show/1cJrrfGY1SKBIRn5noKSAf?si=6SI4qIcRTEO7EhOe0V9n4w
RSS Feed → https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LSHML4761942757
Unchained: Your no-hype resource for all things crypto!
Roman Storm's Tornado Cash retrial has slid to April 2027, and Peter Van Valkenburgh, executive director of Coin Center, lays out the core argument for why he thinks the prosecution got it wrong: that software is speech protected by the Berman Amendments, and that prosecuting an immutable protocol's developer punishes the wrong person.
Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan add the personal context of knowing the Tornado Cash team before the arrests, and the group covers the "a frying pan doesn't hold the heat, but it transmits the heat" money-transmission theory, the Samourai Wallet comparison, and the chilling effect on developers two years on.
Hosts:
👉 Kain Warwick - Host of Uneasy Money and Founder of Infinex and Synthetix - https://x.com/kaiynne
👉 Taylor Monahan - Co-host of Uneasy Money and Security Expert - https://x.com/tayvano_
Guest:
👉 Peter Van Valkenburgh - Executive Director of Coin Center - https://x.com/valkenburgh
This clip is from a longer conversation on Iran sanctions, stablecoin regulation, the SEC's proposed ICO exemptions, and Trump naming Hyperliquid. Full episode here: youtu.be/9WGBQD3my3Y
We go live every Wednesday - subscribe to catch it live.
👉 Visit 1inch to swap tokenized securities, crypto and more. Simple. Secure. Self-custodial. Whatever asset you’re buying - swap it at unchainedcrypto.com/go/1inch-yt.
Chapters:
🎯 00:00 Acquittal or delay: Roman Storm's retrial slides to April 2027
🍳 01:39 The 'frying pan' theory prosecutors used for money transmission
🗽 03:17 The Berman Amendments: why sanctions can't gag speech
🔍 05:30 Comparing Tornado Cash to the Samurai Wallet prosecution
⚖️ 10:21 Why Van Valkenburgh calls this a misallocation of resources
🔐 13:15 Hero, not villain: the case for Roman Storm
❄️ 13:40 The chilling effect on developers, two years later
🤝 16:00 Kain remembers meeting the Tornado Cash team pre-launch
💭 20:51 Closing thoughts: wishing for a better path forward
_______________________________________________________
#bitcoin #ethereum #crypto #cryptocurrencies
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subscribe to our channel!
Website → unchainedcrypto.com
Unchained Daily Newsletter (FREE!)→ unchainedcrypto.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Unchained X → https://x.com/unchained_pod
Apple → podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1123922160?ls=1
Spotify → open.spotify.com/show/1cJrrfGY1SKBIRn5noKSAf?si=6SI4qIcRTEO7EhOe0V9n4w
RSS Feed → https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LSHML4761942757
Unchained: Your no-hype resource for all things crypto!
