Senators Lummis and Wyden push bill to exempt non-custodial blockchain developers from money transmitter laws

Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced the bipartisan Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act to exempt non-custodial blockchain developers and infrastructure providers from federal money transmitter rules. The legislation specifies that developers who write code or maintain distributed ledgers without controlling user funds should not be treated as financial intermediaries. Senator Lummis argued that this designation is nonsensical when developers never touch user funds, stifling innovation. Senator Wyden emphasized that applying these rules to code writers violates Americans' privacy and free speech rights. The bill aims to provide regulatory certainty, harmonize federal and state standards, and counter the trend of innovation moving offshore, especially following recent prosecutions against Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet developers.

(Source：Crypto Briefing)