Coalition of Tech Advocacy Groups and Cryptocurrency Firms Express Concerns
In a significant move, a large coalition of tech advocacy groups and cryptocurrency firms has come together to express concerns to the Senate Banking Committee regarding an impending bill on crypto market structure. On Wednesday, they delivered a letter emphasizing the necessity for essential legal safeguards for software developers.
The coalition, which lists 114 signatories including prominent entities such as Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, and Kraken, insists:
“Our unified message to Congress is clear: robust and comprehensive protections for software developers and non-custodial service providers must be integral to market structure legislation. Without these protections, the bill cannot garner our support.”
Concerns Over Potential Criminal Liabilities
The initiative, spearheaded by the DeFi Education Fund and supported by various lobbying organizations, follows apprehensions that some Senate Democrats might introduce measures that could criminally burden developers whose software could be implicated in money laundering or sanctions violations. A source close to the situation indicated that preventing such liabilities is a divisive issue across the industry.
While the letter acknowledged the House of Representatives’ passage of the CLARITY Act, which effectively excludes decentralized finance and direct on-chain transactions from regulation, it deemed this step inadequate. The Senate is urged to advance further by incorporating protections against criminal responsibility for developers.
Call for Legislative Clarity
Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of the Solana Policy Institute, stated:
“The voice of the crypto sector converges on a keystone principle: public blockchains are foundational infrastructure similar to the internet, roads, or bridges. It’s essential that Congress uphold this analogy and extend the same protections to digital infrastructure. We don’t charge highway engineers for crimes committed using the roads; it’s time for a similar approach for tech developers.”
The coalition’s letter also highlights the need for the Senate bill to clarify that software developers should not be prosecuted under U.S. code 1960, which defines operators of money transmitting businesses. This call comes in light of recent legal actions taken by the Trump administration against Roman Storm, a developer associated with the Tornado Cash service, for supposedly facilitating criminal activity.
Even though there was a recent softening from the administration regarding prosecuting developers of truly decentralized applications, the crypto leaders today reiterated their stance. They assert:
“Legislation should not differentiate between developers based on the nature of their software when acting as non-intermediaries without custody over user funds. Inadequate safeguards could hinder innovation, cripple open-source endeavors, and push blockchain development outside the U.S.”
