U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden have introduced a bipartisan bill that aims to clearly separate non‑custodial blockchain developers from regulated money transmitters under federal law. The proposal, called the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), arrived just as the Senate prepares to debate a broader package on crypto market structure this month.
At its core, the bill states that software developers, miners, node operators, and infrastructure providers who do not control users’ funds or hold private keys should not be treated as money transmitters. Lawmakers frame the measure as a way to protect open‑source development and avoid treating people who write or maintain code like banks or payment processors.
What the Bill by US Senators Would Change
The BRCA would create a federal definition of a “non‑controlling developer or provider.” This would cover people and businesses that build or maintain distributed ledger technology but lack the unilateral ability to move customer assets.
Activities such as publishing code, maintaining blockchain infrastructure, offering self‑custody tools, or running validator nodes would not, by themselves, trigger money transmitter registration duties.
The bill attempts to harmonize federal and state approaches. This is achieved by preventing states from imposing money transmitter rules on developers engaged only in these protected activities, while preserving state authority over firms that actually hold or move client funds.
Senator Lummis maintains that it “makes no sense” to classify developers as money transmitters. This is because they never touch user funds, which “unnecessarily limits innovation.” Wyden has also stressed civil‑liberties concerns, warning that requiring coders to follow the same rules as exchanges risks undermining privacy and free-speech rights.
Supporters argue that this clarity is much needed to stop the push to develop offshore. Clarity would align the law with existing Treasury guidance that focuses on entities that truly control customer assets.
The Blockchain Association and the DeFi Education Fund are among the crypto advocacy groups that have approved the BRCA as a crucial protection for decentralized and non-custodial initiatives. They want this wording to remain in the broader market structure measure. This is because it is where future Senate Banking and Agriculture Committee markups are also negotiating similar provisions.
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