Crypto Giants Warn Senate: No Market Structure Bill Without Developer Protections

Who Signed the Letter?

The letter was signed by major crypto players including Coinbase, Kraken, Grayscale, Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, DCG, Solana Labs, and Uniswap Labs. It also received backing from lobbying groups such as the Chamber of Progress, funded by Amazon, Apple, Google, and Uber.

A source familiar with the initiative said the push came after concerns that some Senate Democrats might add language to the bill implicating developers of software later used for money laundering or sanctions evasion.

“Preventing developers from facing such criminal liability is an issue that fully unites the industry,” the source emphasized.

Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of the Solana Policy Institute, said:

“The leaders of the crypto industry are speaking with one voice on a fundamental principle: public blockchains are neutral infrastructure just like the internet, roads, or bridges. The U.S. doesn’t criminalize the engineers who build our highways when someone uses them to commit a crime. Congress must apply that same principle to digital infrastructure and include comprehensive protections for developers and non-custodial service providers in any market structure legislation.”

Target: U.S. Code 1960

Specifically, the coalition is urging the Senate to clarify that software developers cannot be prosecuted as money transmitters under U.S. code 1960. They also want any federal protections to override conflicting state laws.

The demand follows the conviction of Roman Storm, co-developer of the Tornado Cash crypto-mixing protocol, under that statute. Storm was found guilty because the platform processed funds tied to illegal activity.

Interestingly, while the Trump administration has broadly taken a pro-crypto stance, the Department of Justice appeared to soften its approach weeks later. A DOJ official told crypto industry leaders it would no longer prosecute developers of “truly decentralized” peer-to-peer software that does not hold user funds.

Stronger Tone From the Industry

Despite that reassurance, today’s letter strikes a firmer tone.

“Legislation should not regulate developers differently based on the type of software they create when they are not acting as intermediaries and don’t have control or custody of user assets,” the coalition wrote. “Without these explicit safeguards, the bill risks stifling innovation, undermining open-source development, and driving blockchain infrastructure development out of the United States.”