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More than thirty major crypto companies, including a16z, Coinbase, Kraken, Uniswap, Solana, Aptos, Aave, 1inch, Block, BitGo, Zcash, Galaxy, Ledger and Hyperliquid, sent a joint letter to Congress on Friday urging lawmakers to include explicit legal protections for non-custodial software developers in the crypto Clarity Act.
Why it matters
The Clarity Act, the market-structure bill that complements the FIT21 framework, currently focuses on defining which agency regulates digital-asset intermediaries. The coalition argues the bill leaves open-source developers — the engineers building wallets, DEX front-ends, validator clients and protocol infrastructure — exposed to secondary liability for how third parties use their code. Writing a safe-harbour into the statute would mirror the liability shield that has long protected independent software vendors in traditional tech.
Market impact
The signatories read as a who’s-who of US-aligned crypto: venture, retail, exchange, hardware-wallet, and Layer-1 ecosystems all on the same page. The unusual breadth of the coalition signals how broadly the developer-liability concern has spread beyond a single sector. Watch for whether Congressional drafters fold the language into the next markup or punt it to a later amendment cycle — the answer will set the tone for how aggressively US-based protocol teams can ship from onshore.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the crypto Clarity Act?
The Clarity Act is the US market-structure bill that defines which agency regulates digital-asset intermediaries, intended to complement the FIT21 framework already passed by the House.
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Why do crypto firms want developer protections written into the bill?
The current draft focuses on intermediaries and leaves open-source developers of wallets, DEX front-ends and protocol infrastructure exposed to secondary liability for how third parties use their code.
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Which companies signed the joint letter to Congress?
Signatories include a16z, Coinbase, Kraken, Uniswap, Solana, Aptos, Aave, 1inch, Block, BitGo, Zcash, Galaxy, Ledger and Hyperliquid, among more than thirty firms.
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How would a statutory safe-harbour help crypto developers?
A safe-harbour would shield non-custodial software developers from liability tied to downstream use of their code, mirroring protections long held by independent software vendors in traditional tech.
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What happens next with the Clarity Act in Congress?
Watch whether drafters fold developer-protections language into the next markup or punt it to a later amendment cycle before any floor vote.
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