Software developer protections added to large House crypto bill ahead of scheduled debate

Lawmakers have included a measure aimed at protecting software developers in the latest version of a sweeping digital asset market structure bill, following pressure from cryptocurrency advocacy groups.

As those lawmakers in the House gear up to debate and vote on changes for the larger crypto market bill on Tuesday, crypto advocacy groups cheered a change that would clarify that non-custodial crypto platforms — and the developers that build them — are not money transmitters or operators of an "unlicensed money services business. The key provision was proposed under the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which was reintroduced last month by Reps. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y.

"This is a meaningful step toward protecting developers of non-custodial, peer-to-peer technologies while maintaining strong oversight of custodial financial institutions," the organizations said in a statement. Those groups include Coin Center, the DeFi Education Fund, Crypto Council for Innovation, Uniswap Labs, and the Blockchain Association, among others.

An amendment in the nature of a substitute was filed ahead of Tuesday's markup. That 247-page amendment proposes to replace the entire bill text. The House Financial Services Committee will be debating eight bills, including the market structure bill called the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The Clarity bill would create a clear regulatory framework for crypto in part through designating how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will regulate. The bill also requires digital asset firms to provide disclosures to customers and segregate customer funds from their own.

Getting enough support from some Democrats to move the bill forward has hit a few roadblocks. Some lawmakers have raised issues over President Donald Trump's involvement in the crypto industry. The president has dabbled in crypto through the debut of Trump-backed World Liberty Financial and later the launch of its own stablecoin. Ahead of his inauguration, Trump put forward a memecoin and later hosted a dinner for the top holders, which drew swift scrutiny from some Democrats.

Meanwhile, Democratic staffers have said that a meeting with the SEC to go over routine technical assistance last month did not go well after they said the agency was not able to answer basic questions about the bill and seemed to be "trying to hide the ball."

The hearing to debate the bill is slated for 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday.