News linked to both this project and an event.
one year after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Clarity for Digital Assets Act (CLARITY Act), the bill remains stalled in the Senate, facing opposition from the banking industry and partisan divisions. Supporters anticipate a potential vote before the Senate's August recess. Industry organizations Coin Center and the Blockchain Association have identified Section 604 as a key provision for protecting open-source innovation. This provision aims to prevent non-custodial blockchain developers, node operators, and validators from being classified as federal money transmitters. Stefan Muehlbauer, Head of U.S. Government Affairs at CertiK, stated that removing Section 604 could conflate software development with financial services, subjecting developers to the Bank Secrecy Act and triggering First Amendment-related constitutional challenges. Iana Dimitrova, CEO of Openpayd, noted that the expanding use of stablecoins for cross-border value transfer has made the need for a federal regulatory framework more apparent. The bill also addresses accounting standards, acknowledges the rescission of SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin SAB 121, and prohibits the SEC from reimposing equivalent crypto custody accounting requirements without a full notice-and-comment rulemaking process. Mark Zalan, CEO of Gomining, pointed out that Bitcoin still faces regulatory gaps, such as tax treatment.
one year after the US House of Representatives passed the CLARITY Act, the bill has still not moved forward in the Senate. On July 17, House members held a hearing at Federal Hall National Memorial in New York to discuss how the bill could establish clearer rules for the digital asset market. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer stated that nearly 80 Democrats joined Republicans in passing the CLARITY Act, but the Senate has yet to make measurable progress. Participants in the hearing included representatives from Nova Labs, Bullish, WisdomTree, and Coin Center. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill noted that even with the GENIUS Act and dollar-backed stablecoin laws in place, without a market structure bill, the digital asset ecosystem still lacks the rule system needed to support its operation. Senator Cynthia Lummis said on July 14 that the Senate version of the CLARITY Act is ready, and the text of the bill will be released within days.
Odaily News: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging that any version of the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" considered by the Senate retain Section 604 to protect non-custodial blockchain developers who do not control user assets. Ron Wyden stated that developers should not be considered money transmitters simply because they create or publish software that allows users to manage their own digital assets. Coin Center Executive Director Peter Van Valkenburgh, the DeFi Education Fund, and Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn have expressed support for this stance. Alex Thorn also noted that supporting developer protections does not mean Ron Wyden will endorse the entire CLARITY Act. Ron Wyden further stated that the provision does not protect developers involved in illegal activities and can direct law enforcement resources toward criminals and unlicensed money transmission businesses, rather than neutral software developers. (Bitcoin.com News).
Odaily News Coin Center released a report stating that cryptocurrency software code constitutes "functional speech" and should be protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The organization argues that writing and publishing code is akin to writing a book or publishing a recipe; developers are "expressers and inventors," not custodians of assets or intermediaries.The report points out that the mere act of publishing and maintaining software should be strictly protected. However, when developers directly control user assets, execute transactions on behalf of users, or make decisions for users, they may enter a realm subject to regulation.This statement comes at a time of increasing regulatory controversy. Coin Center emphasized that developers should not be treated as financial intermediaries for the convenience of law enforcement. It calls for upholding existing free speech principles in the context of new technologies, rather than expanding the boundaries of criminal liability. (Cointelegraph)