News

Crypto Organizations Demand Developer Protections in Senate Market Structure Legislation

• By John K. Waters
• August 27, 2025

A coalition of 115 cryptocurrency builders, investors, and advocates—led by the DeFi Education Fund—has submitted a letter to Senate banking and agriculture committees demanding robust federal protections for software developers and non-custodial service providers in upcoming digital asset legislation.

The coalition warns it cannot support market structure bills without explicit safeguards for blockchain developers, citing regulatory uncertainty that has already caused the U.S. share of open-source software developers to drop from 25% in 2021 to 18% in 2025.

Key demands include:

• Federal protections prevent developers from being regulated as money transmitters under existing laws
• Clarity that creating, maintaining, or enabling access to blockchain networks doesn't trigger financial regulations
• Preemption of conflicting state laws to ensure nationwide consistency

The letter supports including the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act and Keep Your Coins Act in final legislation, while calling for additional developer protections beyond what's currently proposed.

Notable signatories include major cryptocurrency companies like Coinbase, Kraken, and Uniswap Labs, alongside venture capital firms a16z crypto, Paradigm, and Pantera Capital, as well as blockchain advocacy groups and state-level initiatives across more than 20 states.

The coalition argues these protections are essential for the U.S. to become the "crypto capital of the world" and maintain its historical leadership in software development innovation.