The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) initially considered bringing charges against Dragonfly Capital, a venture capital firm, over its early investment in PepperSec, Inc., the developer of the Tornado Cash decentralized mixing service. Dragonfly co-founder Haseeb Qureshi confirmed that the DOJ's scrutiny was related to the firm's involvement with Tornado Cash. However, by July 30, 2025, the DOJ reportedly backtracked on pursuing charges against Dragonfly. Qureshi stated that the DOJ's earlier statements suggesting an investigation were a strategy to prevent Dragonfly executives from testifying in the defense of Roman Storm, a figure involved in the ongoing Tornado Cash trial. Closing arguments in the Tornado Cash case were underway at that time, and the DOJ's approach has raised concerns about the broader implications for decentralized finance (DeFi).