{"id":93089,"date":"2026-01-13T16:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=93089"},"modified":"2026-01-13T16:50:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:50:22","slug":"us-lawmakers-advocate-for-defi-developers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/us-lawmakers-advocate-for-defi-developers\/","title":{"rendered":"US Lawmakers Advocate for DeFi Developers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden have introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. The bill exempts developers and providers of non-custodial services from the requirement to obtain money transmitter licenses.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Writing code is not the same as controlling money and developers who build blockchain infrastructure without touching user funds shouldn&#8217;t be treated like banks. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RonWyden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RonWyden<\/a> and I are ensuring that won\u2019t happen. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9zIgh07e0b\">pic.twitter.com\/9zIgh07e0b<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenLummis\/status\/2010818468778492132?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>According to the initiative, software creators who do not control user funds should not be subject to the same rules as financial intermediaries.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cForcing code developers to comply with the same rules as exchanges or brokers is technologically illiterate. It is a direct path to violating Americans&#8217; rights to privacy and free speech,\u201d <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lummis.senate.gov\/press-releases\/lummis-wyden-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-protect-blockchain-developers-from-money-transmitter-requirements\/\"><em>said<\/em><\/a><em> Wyden.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act is expected to be included in a comprehensive package of cryptocurrency market reforms being prepared by the Senate Banking Committee. Hearings on the amendments and voting are scheduled for January 15.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Industry Position<\/h2>\n<p>The DeFi Education Fund has expressed support for the initiative. Representatives of the organization emphasized that protecting software creators is critically important for the future of the financial system.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) provides critical protections for software developers of non-custodial, decentralized technologies \u2014 ensuring they will not be inaccurately and unfairly treated as \u201cmoney transmitters\u201d under the BSA and criminal law. The BRCA, which\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1mWypyAlR8\">https:\/\/t.co\/1mWypyAlR8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 DeFi Education Fund (@fund_defi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fund_defi\/status\/2010824966019674537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On January 9, the non-profit organization Solana Policy Institute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/files\/cft-written-rfi-response-01092026.pdf\">sent<\/a> a letter to the <span data-descr=\"U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission\" class=\"old_tooltip\">SEC<\/span>. Experts urged the Commission to clearly distinguish between centralized exchanges and non-custodial DeFi protocols.<\/p>\n<p>The authors of the initiative insist that applying the rule defining the concept of an \u201cexchange\u201d to open source code is inappropriate. Smart contract developers do not hold client assets, execute trades, or manage funds.<\/p>\n<p>The Solana Policy Institute believes that equating DeFi with trading platforms will stifle innovation and push businesses offshore.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Precedents<\/h2>\n<p>The issue of programmer liability has intensified amid the prosecution of the <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-is-the-tornado-cash-mixer-and-why-was-it-sanctioned\">Tornado Cash<\/a> team. Authorities in the US and the Netherlands are pursuing legal action against developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev. The main point of contention is whether writing and publishing open source code can be considered complicity in a crime if the authors did not have access to user funds.<\/p>\n<p>In January, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/vitalik-buterin-defends-tornado-cash-developer\">published<\/a> a letter supporting Storm, who faces up to five years in prison. As a staunch advocate of privacy, he has supported the mixer developer&#8217;s project from the outset.<\/p>\n<p>Another high-profile precedent was the case of the Samourai Wallet founders. In November 2025, a court <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/samourai-wallet-founders-accused-of-deliberate-money-laundering\">sentenced<\/a> them to prison for laundering over $237 million. Keonne Rodriguez received a five-year sentence, while his colleague William Lonergan Hill received four years.<\/p>\n<p>In December, US President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/trump-to-review-case-of-convicted-samourai-wallet-co-founder\">suggested<\/a> the possibility of pardoning Rodriguez. In January, the developer&#8217;s wife, Lauren Emily, confirmed on X that the family continues to seek a review of the decision.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is an old video. We are still seeking a pardon! Please sign the petition to let <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@POTUS<\/a> know you care about bitcoin developers freedom! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/x7szheKftE\">https:\/\/t.co\/x7szheKftE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 lauren emily (@leamuirleyn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/leamuirleyn\/status\/2010870480060985633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>She urged the community to sign a petition to demonstrate the importance of freedom for bitcoin developers.<\/p>\n<p>Back in August 2025, Matthew Galeotti from the US Department of Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/us-revises-stance-on-defi-following-tornado-cash-case\">stated<\/a> that the department would cease prosecuting DeFi application developers under the statute for operating an unlicensed money transmission business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the US, a bill has been introduced that exempts DeFi developers from the need to obtain money transmitter licenses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"US bill exempts DeFi developers from money transmitter licenses.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1093,1192,36,26],"class_list":["post-93089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-defi","tag-developers","tag-regulation","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"143","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"US bill exempts DeFi developers from money transmitter licenses.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93089"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93091,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93089\/revisions\/93091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}