Lummis, Wyden File ‘Code Is Not Crime’ Bill to Shield Non-Controlling Devs

The Lead

U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act of 2026, a bipartisan bid to codify that writing software is not the same as running a bank. The bill seeks to exempt “non-controlling” developers, those who cannot unilaterally seize or move user funds, from the strict money transmitter licensing regimes currently being used by the DOJ to prosecute privacy tool creators.

The ‘Non-Controlling’ Safe Harbor

The legislation draws a hard line between custody and code. Under the proposed framework, entities that provide infrastructure (miners, validators, wallet software developers), would explicitly fall outside the definition of a “money transmitter” under the Bank Secrecy Act, provided they do not hold the keys to user assets.

This definition directly challenges the legal theory used in the conviction of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm in August 2025. In that case, prosecutors successfully argued that publishing code for a mixing protocol constituted operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, even if the developers did not directly handle the funds. The Lummis-Wyden bill would retroactively invalidate that logic for future cases, clarifying that without “control,” there is no transmission.

“Blockchain developers who have simply written code and maintain open-source infrastructure have lived under threat of being classified as money transmitters for far too long.” Senator Cynthia Lummis

Institutional Context

The introduction of this standalone bill acts as a strategic signal as the Senate Banking Committee prepares to markup the broader Digital Asset Market Clarity Act later this month. By isolating the developer liability issue, Lummis and Wyden are attempting to lock in protections for the open-source layer before the heavier negotiations on stablecoins and exchange jurisdiction begin.

The stakes for this distinction shifted from theoretical to existential in late 2025. Following the sentencing of the Samourai Wallet founders and the partial conviction of Storm, legal departments at major crypto infrastructure firms have been forced to re-evaluate whether running a non-custodial UI or RPC node could trigger criminal liability. This bill attempts to close that exposure window.

Market Reaction

Crypto markets largely ignored the legislative maneuvering, focused instead on macroeconomic drifts. Bitcoin hovered near $91,950 (+1.5%), while Solana, whose DeFi ecosystem relies heavily on the non-custodial definitions at stake, pushed to $142 (+4.4%) amid the news.