A new version of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act is resurfacing in Washington, and if passed it could redraw the legal line between building crypto tools and moving other people’s money. What’s changing - The bill, whose updated language was floated by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden, seeks to make it explicit that software developers and infrastructure operators who do not control other people’s crypto funds should not be treated as money transmitters. The rewrite follows an original measure introduced years ago in the House by Representative Tom Emmer. Why this matters - Supporters say the change would separate “creating tools” from “moving money” in federal law, giving developers clearer protections and reducing the risk that routine coding work could be prosecuted as running a financial service. Advocates argue that legal certainty is essential to keep teams building in the U.S. rather than taking projects offshore. What pushed this debate forward - High-profile prosecutions of people linked to crypto privacy tools have galvanized the discussion. The developer connected to Tornado Cash is facing money transmission charges and is awaiting sentencing (Roman Storm). Two men tied to Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez and Will Lonergan Hill, were convicted on similar counts and received multi-year prison terms. These cases highlight how tools can become the focus of criminal probes when they are misused. Arguments on both sides - Coin Center and other privacy/tech advocates, including Jason Somensatto (policy chief at Coin Center), warn that diluting the bill would leave creators guessing where liability begins and ends. In a letter to the Senate Banking Committee, Somensatto argued that software authors deserve the same baseline protections as other internet builders — hosting firms, browser developers and email providers — who aren’t jailed when bad actors misuse their products. - Opponents, however, worry the language could create loopholes that shield bad actors. Legal experts are split: some want narrower safe harbors tightly confined to clearly defined developer activity, while others call for robust guardrails that still allow prosecutors to pursue criminal abuse. Next steps and the stakes - The Senate Banking Committee has not yet marked up the bill. Lawmakers will need to balance public-safety and enforcement concerns against the goal of keeping innovative crypto engineering and investment in the U.S. The committee’s choices will directly influence where developers decide to work and how the next generation of crypto tools gets built. Featured image from Unsplash; chart from TradingView. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news