Wyden urges Senate leaders to keep CLARITY Act protections for developers

Senator Ron Wyden has urged Senate leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer to preserve Section 604 of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, in any version brought to the floor. Wyden said developers who publish non-custodial software should not be treated as money transmitters solely because they create or release code when they do not control user assets. He also said the provision would leave anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism safeguards intact and help direct enforcement toward criminals and unlicensed money transmitting businesses rather than neutral software developers. Crypto policy advocates including Coin Center’s Peter Van Valkenburgh and the DeFi Education Fund praised the letter as a defense of software publication and open internet principles. Galaxy Digital’s Alex Thorn said support for the developer protections does not necessarily mean Wyden will vote for the broader CLARITY Act, noting his previous no votes on the DeFi CRA and GENIUS Act. The debate still comes amid broader scrutiny of the bill, including Senator Cynthia Lummis’s rebuttal to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s sanctions-evasion criticism, mixed law enforcement views, and the need for Democratic support to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.