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Two U.S. senators have reintroduced legislation that would prevent blockchain developers from being classified as money transmitters if they do not control user funds.
The bipartisan Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, proposed Jan. 13 by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden, aims to draw a legal line between writing open-source code and operating a financial service—a distinction that has grown urgent as federal prosecutors target crypto developers.
The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act was reintroduced on Jan. 13, 2026, as bipartisan U.S. senators moved to clarify when cryptocurrency developers and blockchain infrastructure providers can be treated as money transmitters under federal law.
At the center of the proposal is a clear legal distinction between developers who create or maintain blockchain software and entities that exercise control over user funds. Under the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, developers would not be classified as money transmitters if they do not have custody of assets or the unilateral ability to move user funds.
“Blockchain developers who have simply written code and maintain open-source infrastructure have lived under threat of being classified as money transmitters for far too long,” — Cynthia Lummis, U.S. Senator, said in a statement.
She added that such a designation “makes no sense when they never touch, control, or have access to user funds.”
The legislation would explicitly exclude so-called non-controlling developers and infrastructure providers from money-transmitter status, provided they lack legal authority over digital assets. Supporters argue this clarification is essential to prevent regulatory overreach that could chill innovation in open-source development.
The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act has drawn support from industry leaders who say uncertainty around developer liability has become a structural risk for the crypto ecosystem. Mehow Pospieszalski, CEO of wallet infrastructure firm American Fortress, said the proposal addresses a long-standing concern.
“This is long overdue progress. Writers of self-custody code should never be treated as banks or exchanges since we don’t control the funds,” — Mehow Pospieszalski, CEO, American Fortress, told Decrypt.
Observers note that the bill arrives as Congress debates broader crypto market-structure legislation, where unresolved questions about liability could stall progress. The act builds on earlier efforts, including legislation reintroduced by Representative Tom Emmer, and follows a 2024 letter from Senator Lummis that raised similar issues.
Recent Department of Justice actions have sharpened attention on the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. High-profile cases tied to privacy and self-custody software, including prosecutions related to Tornado Cash and the sentencing of Samourai Wallet’s CTO, have transformed developer liability from a theoretical issue into a practical one.
“Developer liability is one of those issues that can quietly derail everything else if it’s left unresolved,” — Jakob Kronbichler, CEO, Clearpool, said . He described the proposal as “an attempt to put a clear marker down early.”
Kronbichler added that recent prosecutions have shifted the tone of the debate.
“Those cases turned what was previously a theoretical concern into a concrete one. For a long time, developer liability was discussed as a ‘what if’ scenario. Now there are real prosecutions that developers and founders are watching closely,” — Jakob Kronbichler, CEO, Clearpool, said.
Supporters argue the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act is not about avoiding regulation, but about ensuring accountability aligns with actual control over assets. By reintroducing the bill early in the legislative cycle, Senators Lummis and Wyden appear intent on shaping how developer responsibility is handled across future crypto laws.
The proposal’s backers say failure to resolve the issue risks applying financial regulations in ways lawmakers never intended, potentially infringing on privacy and free speech protections.
“Forcing developers who write code to follow the same rules as exchanges or brokers is technologically illiterate and a recipe for violating Americans’ privacy and free speech rights,” — Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator, said.
As Congress weighs its next steps on digital-asset policy, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act has emerged as a foundational test of whether U.S. regulation can distinguish between writing software and running financial services—an outcome that could influence how innovation unfolds in the blockchain sector for years to come.
