Crypto Developers Could Get Long-Term Shield Under New Senate Bill

bitcoinistPublicado a 2026-01-14Actualizado a 2026-01-14

Resumen

US Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, a standalone bill to protect blockchain developers and non-custodial infrastructure providers from being classified as money transmitters. The legislation creates a safe harbor for those who write code or maintain networks without controlling user funds, meaning liability depends on custody of assets rather than software development. This aims to reduce legal risks for node operators and open-source developers. The move follows industry lobbying and delays in broader crypto market-structure legislation. While welcomed by many, some caution that clear definitions are needed to prevent loopholes and ensure the protection applies only to builders, not asset handlers.

US Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced a standalone measure that would protect blockchain developers and other non-custodial infrastructure providers from being treated as money transmitters solely for writing code or maintaining networks. The bill is being filed as the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, a name that also appears in earlier House paperwork filed last year.

Crypto: Bill Aims To Protect Non-Custodial Developers

The draft would create a safe harbor for developers who do not control user funds, making liability turn on actual custody or control of assets rather than on the act of creating software. That change would mean node operators, protocol maintainers, and many open-source coders could avoid money-transmitter rules so long as they do not hold or direct users’ tokens.

Industry Pressure And A History Of Concern

Reports have disclosed months of lobbying from exchanges, developer groups, and advocacy coalitions that urged lawmakers to clarify this point. Those groups warned that without clear language, developers could face licensing and enforcement risks that would chill US-based development. The House version of the measure first appeared in May last year and set out similar safe-harbor text.

Total crypto market cap currently at $3.1 trillion. Chart: TradingView

Senate Markup Delayed As Negotiations Continue

Lawmakers have paused a larger Senate market-structure push while they work through a range of open issues, including stablecoin policy and yield rules. With that broader package pushed later into the month, sponsors moved the developer protections into a standalone bill to give that issue its own spotlight. Reports suggests the pause means Congress may act on the developer language sooner than the full market bill.

The US Senate. Image: Omar Chatriwala/Getty Images

What Developers And Advocates Are Saying

Some protocol teams and industry lawyers welcomed the step as a much-needed clarification, saying it would reduce legal uncertainty for projects that do not custody funds.

Others urged care, noting that clear definitions will be crucial to prevent loopholes and to make sure bad actors cannot hide behind the safe harbor. Coverage indicates sponsors emphasized the bill’s goal is narrow: protect those who build and maintain, not those who handle other people’s assets.

The proposal for a separate law is being introduced while there are still many uncertainties surrounding how cryptocurrencies will be regulated in the US. In the latter part of 2025 and into 2026, the crypto sector has demonstrated that it has a great deal of clout within political circles in Washington D.C.

There has been a significant increase in lobbying by large crypto-related businesses as legislators review various options for regulating this industry. Several reports have linked the current political environment to the legislative actions taken to regulate crypto in Congress, as well as how interest in legislative action has increased due to Trump’s administration.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Preguntas relacionadas

QWhat is the main purpose of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act introduced by Senators Lummis and Wyden?

AThe main purpose is to protect blockchain developers and non-custodial infrastructure providers from being treated as money transmitters solely for writing code or maintaining networks, by creating a safe harbor for those who do not control user funds.

QAccording to the bill, what determines liability for developers under the proposed safe harbor?

ALiability turns on actual custody or control of assets rather than on the act of creating software, meaning developers are protected as long as they do not hold or direct users' tokens.

QWhy did the developer protection measure become a standalone bill instead of part of a larger package?

AThe larger Senate market-structure push was paused to work on open issues like stablecoin policy, so sponsors moved the developer protections into a standalone bill to give it separate attention and potentially faster action.

QWhat concern do some industry lawyers have about the safe harbor provision?

ASome lawyers urge care, noting that clear definitions are crucial to prevent loopholes and ensure bad actors cannot hide behind the safe harbor to evade regulation.

QHow has the crypto industry demonstrated political influence in Washington D.C. according to the article?

AThe crypto sector has shown significant clout through increased lobbying by large crypto-related businesses and heightened legislative activity, with reports linking this to the current political environment and Trump's administration.

Lecturas Relacionadas

Bitcoin Must Hold $60K Or Risk Major Breakdown, TradingView Analyst Warns

Bitcoin has reached a critical juncture around the $60,000 level, which analysts view as a major technical and psychological support zone. According to a TradingView analysis, a successful hold above this demand area could pave the way for a recovery toward $81,000. However, the warning is clear: a decisive and sustained break below $60,000 would invalidate the bullish outlook, likely triggering stop losses and a deeper market correction. The current setup is described as a binary test—maintaining support keeps the recovery narrative alive, while losing it would signal a shift toward a more significant downturn.

bitcoinistHace 22 min(s)

Bitcoin Must Hold $60K Or Risk Major Breakdown, TradingView Analyst Warns

bitcoinistHace 22 min(s)

Venus Protocol Integrates Tokenized Stocks As Lending Collateral On BNB Chain

Venus Protocol now allows tokenized stocks from companies like Apple, Tesla, and Microsoft to be used as borrowing collateral on BNB Chain. This integration brings a key real-world asset (RWA) use case into DeFi lending. Users can deposit these tokenized equities, which are described as 1:1 backed by real shares held by regulated custodians, into isolated pools to borrow stablecoins or BNB without selling their underlying positions. This move expands DeFi lending beyond crypto-native assets, resembling traditional margin finance. It highlights BNB Chain's competition for RWA activity and aims to attract more stable liquidity. However, tokenized stocks introduce different risks, including dependency on off-chain custodians and challenges with collateral valuation due to differing market hours between traditional and on-chain trading. While not an immediate price catalyst, this development is significant within broader crypto trends like compliance pressure and RWA tokenization. Success will depend on growing liquidity, reliable custody, robust price oracles, and clear rules for redemptions and liquidations.

bitcoinistHace 1 hora(s)

Venus Protocol Integrates Tokenized Stocks As Lending Collateral On BNB Chain

bitcoinistHace 1 hora(s)

The Impossible Trilemma Is Basically a Pseudo-Problem

The article argues that the core limitation of blockchain technology is not the scalability trilemma, but its fundamental lack of privacy, which acts as a barrier to institutional capital. It defines blockchain as a slow, expensive, shared computer whose primary value is "permissionlessness" (no administrator) and verifiable trust. While this is ideal for native financial assets like stable币, which now process trillions, two critical flaws remain for mainstream adoption: regulatory legitimacy and a default transparency that leaks all financial activity. The author contends that transparency is not a feature but a tax, quantified through MEV extraction, making the public ledger unusable for serious institutions. However, modern cryptography, specifically zero-knowledge proofs, now offers a solution: "provable privacy." This allows users to prove compliance (e.g., solvency, KYC) without revealing underlying data. This fusion of privacy and auditability resolves the transparency-compliant privacy-compliance dichotomy, enabling a purely upgraded system where transactions are verified but not broadcasted. Closing these flaws is presented as the essential bridge to onboard the next wave of trillions in capital.

marsbitHace 11 hora(s)

The Impossible Trilemma Is Basically a Pseudo-Problem

marsbitHace 11 hora(s)

The "Impossible Triad" Is Fundamentally a Pseudo-Problem

The article argues that blockchain's fundamental limitation is not the scalability trilemma (decentralization, scalability, security), which has been largely solved, but the lack of **privacy** and, until recently, clear **legitimacy**. Blockchain is described as a slow, expensive, globally shared computer whose core value is censorship resistance and verifiability. While ideal for native digital assets like money (e.g., stablecoins), its default transparency acts as a **tax**, exposing all transactions and enabling MEV extraction, which deters serious institutional capital. Simultaneously, its permissionless nature created regulatory ambiguity. The piece contends that **privacy** is the missing critical feature. It rejects the false choice between total transparency and complete anonymity. Modern cryptography (like zero-knowledge proofs) enables **compliant privacy**: users can prove facts (solvency, KYC status, compliance) without revealing the underlying sensitive data (specific holdings, identities). This preserves auditability for regulators and eliminates the leak of financial information. With recent regulatory progress (e.g., the GENIUS Act) addressing legitimacy, adding default, provably compliant privacy becomes a pure upgrade. It transforms blockchain from a costly, public ledger into a confidential settlement layer, finally bridging the gap to mainstream institutional and individual adoption of on-chain finance.

链捕手Hace 11 hora(s)

The "Impossible Triad" Is Fundamentally a Pseudo-Problem

链捕手Hace 11 hora(s)

Optical Chips: Collective Capacity Expansion

The global optical chip industry is experiencing a massive wave of expansion driven by surging AI data center demand. Major players across the US, Japan, Europe, and China are aggressively investing to ramp up production capacity. In the US, Coherent is expanding its 6-inch Indium Phosphide (InP) semiconductor fab in Texas, supported by CHIPS Act funding and a $2 billion strategic investment from NVIDIA. Lumentum is building a new factory for InP optical devices, and Nokia is scaling its advanced photonic chip packaging and testing capabilities. NVIDIA's investments aim to secure future supply of critical lasers and optical interconnect products for AI infrastructure. Japan's JX Advanced Metals, a leading InP substrate supplier, plans a multi-billion yen investment to increase its capacity 7-10 times, strengthening its grip on the crucial upstream materials market. In Europe, IQE and Tower Semiconductor settled a patent dispute and signed a multi-year InP epitaxial wafer supply agreement, highlighting that next-generation silicon photonics platforms will integrate high-performance InP components. STMicroelectronics and Sivers Semiconductors are also expanding silicon photonics production and partnerships. China is rapidly building out its domestic supply chain. Dongshan Precision's subsidiary, Source Photonics, announced a $12 billion project to expand optical chip and module production. Companies like Sanan Optoelectronics and Yunnan Germanium are scaling up InP chip manufacturing and substrate production, moving towards vertical integration from materials to modules. While debate continues around the exact future architecture—whether CPO (Co-Packaged Optics), NPO, or pluggables will dominate—analysts like Morgan Stanley argue the underlying driver is unchangeable: the explosive growth in bandwidth demand. This will inevitably increase the volume of optical engines, lasers, and related content per GPU, regardless of the final technical path. The competition for "more light" in the AI era has intensified into a global, full-chain capacity race.

marsbitHace 14 hora(s)

Optical Chips: Collective Capacity Expansion

marsbitHace 14 hora(s)

Trading

Spot
Futuros
活动图片