DOJ Will Still Pursue Roman Storm Case Despite Blanche Memo, Prosecutors Say

By: cryptonews|2025/05/16 08:15:04

The U.S. Department of Justice will drop part of one count of its case against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm due to a recent policy memo, the agency said Thursday. The DOJ will not go to trial on a charge alleging Storm failed to comply with money transmitter business registration rules, but still plans to go to trial in July over allegations he knowingly transmitted funds tied to crimes, conspired to commit money laundering and conspired to violate sanctions law, the DOJ said in a letter filed to the judge overseeing its case. "The Government writes to update the Court regarding this case, which is scheduled for trial on July 14, 2025," the letter said. "After review of this case, this Office and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General have determined that this prosecution is consistent with the letter and spirit of the April 7, 2025 Memorandum from the Deputy Attorney General." The April 7 memo, authored by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, directed prosecutors not to pursue cases where regulations may be unclear, or did not meet certain criteria, specifically saying the DOJ should end "regulation by prosecution." Prosecutors in another case against the developers of crypto mixer Samourai Wallet have already asked a judge overseeing that case to pause it while they consider the memo. In a statement, Brian Klein of Waymaker LLP told CoinDesk that his firm, which represents Storm, believes "that this case should never have been brought." "Its dismissal would be consistent with the policies of the Trump Administration and the principles outlined by the Department of Justice in its recent cryptocurrency guidance memo," he said. "Roman’s prosecution is a threat to the entire crypto industry and the interests of justice will be best served by its swift dismissal. We will not cease to fight for Roman and that result." Klein spoke at CoinDesk's Consensus 2025 conference in Toronto on Wednesday, where he also shared his view that the case should not have been brought. "One of the defenses we've raised, which is recognized in the U.S., is that coding — literally typing out code — you are given free speech protections for coding," he said. "It's just as if you wrote a book or you did some other type of expressive activity."

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BeatSwap is evolving towards a full-stack Web3 infrastructure, covering the entire lifecycle of IP rights.

The core product "Space" is scheduled to launch in Q2 2026, driven by SocialFi

BeatSwap, a global Web3 Intellectual Property (IP) infrastructure project, is attempting to overcome the current fragmentation limitations of the Web3 ecosystem, building a full-stack system that covers the entire lifecycle of IP rights.

Currently, most Web3 projects are still in the stage of functional fragmentation, often focusing only on a single aspect, such as IP asset tokenization, transaction functionality, or a simple incentive model. This structural dispersion has become a key bottleneck hindering the industry's scale application.

BeatSwap's approach is more integrated, integrating multiple core modules into the same system, including:

· IP authentication and on-chain registration

· Authorization-based revenue sharing mechanism

· User-engagement-driven incentive system

· Transaction and liquidity infrastructure

Through the above integration, the platform builds an end-to-end closed-loop path, allowing IP rights to complete a full cycle of "creation, use, and monetization" within the same ecosystem.

Expanding from Web3 to a broader market: Restructuring the music industry's supply-demand structure

BeatSwap is not limited to existing crypto users but is attempting to take the global music industry as a starting point, actively creating new market demand. Its core strategies include:

Exploring and incubating music creators (Artist discovery)

Building a fan community

Igniting IP-centric content consumption demand

The current global music industry is valued at around $260 billion, with over 2 billion digital music users. This means that the potential market corresponding to the tokenization and financialization of IP far exceeds the traditional crypto user base.

In this context, BeatSwap positions itself at the intersection of "real-world content demand" and "on-chain infrastructure," attempting to bridge the structural gap between content production and financial flow.

"Space" to Launch in Q2 2026: Building the Core of SocialFi

BeatSwap's upcoming core product "Space" is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2026. This product is defined as the SocialFi layer in the ecosystem, aiming to directly connect creators with users and achieve deep integration with other platform modules.

Key designs include:

A fan-centric interactive mechanism

Exposure and distribution logic based on $BTX staking

User paths connected to DeFi and liquidity structures

Thus, a complete user behavior loop is formed within the platform: Discovery → Participation → Consumption → Rewards → Trading

$BTX Token Mechanism: Evolving from an Incentive Tool to a Value Carrier

$BTX is designed to be a core utility asset within the ecosystem, rather than just a simple incentive token, with its value directly tied to platform activity and IP use cases.

Main features include:

· Yield distribution based on on-chain authorized actions

· Value reflection based on IP usage and user engagement dynamics

· Support for staking and DeFi participation mechanisms

· Value growth driven by ecosystem expansion

With the increased frequency of IP use, the utility and value support of $BTX will enhance simultaneously, helping alleviate the "disconnect between value and utility" issue present in traditional Web3 token models to some extent.

Accelerating Global Exchange Layout: Enhancing Liquidity and Accessibility

Currently, $BTX has been listed on several mainstream exchanges, including:

Binance Alpha

Gate

MEXC

OKX Boost

As the launch of "Space" approaches, BeatSwap is actively pursuing more exchange listings to further enhance liquidity and global accessibility, laying a foundation for future market expansion.

Beyond Web3: Aiming for a Larger-Scale Integration of Content and Finance Markets

BeatSwap's goal is no longer limited to the traditional Web3 narrative but aims to target over 2 billion digital music users and a trillion KRW-scale content market.

By integrating content creators, users, capital, and liquidity into a blockchain framework centered around IP rights, BeatSwap is striving to build a next-generation infrastructure focused on "IP tokenization."

Conclusion

BeatSwap integrates IP authentication, authorization distribution, incentive mechanism, transaction system, and market construction to establish a unified structure that bridges the full lifecycle path of IP rights.

With the launch of the Q2 2026 "Space," the project is expected to become a key infrastructure connecting content and finance in the IP-RWA (Real World Assets) track.