The Solana Policy Institute is urging senators to preserve protections for developers and validators in the CLARITY Act as debate over the bill’s market-structure language continues.
Prospects for the CLARITY Act being signed by July 4 have faded, with attention shifting toward the August recess as Congress weighs the bill and industry groups push to protect key provisions. The Solana Policy Institute has urged Senate leaders to preserve language that would shield open-source developers, validators and other neutral infrastructure providers from being treated like brokers or money transmitters simply for writing code or running blockchain networks. The lobbying push, led by Kristin Smith, centers on Section 604 and the broader question of how the bill distinguishes software and network participants from custodians or businesses that directly handle customer funds. The issue extends beyond Solana to DeFi protocols, wallet providers, Ethereum and Bitcoin layer-2 projects, as market participants watch whether U.S. rules encourage domestic blockchain development or push activity offshore.