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A broad coalition of leading crypto companies has sent a joint letter to Congress demanding that legal protections for developers be embedded in the forthcoming crypto Clarity Act. Signatories span the full stack of the industry — from infrastructure and custody to DeFi protocols and consumer exchanges — including a16z, Coinbase, Kraken, Uniswap, Aave, Solana, Aptos, BitGo, Galaxy, Ledger, 1inch, Block, Zcash, Hyperliquid, and many others.
Why it matters
The Clarity Act is shaping up to be the most consequential piece of US crypto legislation in years, establishing a framework for how digital assets are classified and regulated. Developer liability has been a persistent grey area: builders of open-source protocols have faced legal exposure simply for writing code, even when they have no control over how that code is deployed or used. A coalition of this breadth — covering DeFi, Layer 1s, custodians, and venture — signals that developer protections are now a non-negotiable industry red line, not a niche ask from a single lobby.
Market impact
For tokens like SOL and APT, whose ecosystems depend on active developer communities, a legislative win here would reduce legal overhang and could accelerate protocol development and institutional adoption. More broadly, clear developer safe harbours would lower the cost of building in the US, potentially reversing the offshore migration of crypto talent that has been a structural drag on the domestic industry.
Frequently asked questions
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What specific protections are crypto companies asking Congress to include for developers?
The coalition is urging Congress to embed legal safe harbours for developers in the Clarity Act, shielding builders of open-source protocols from liability for how their code is used by third parties — an exposure that has long deterred US-based crypto development.
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Why does the Clarity Act matter for tokens like SOL and APT specifically?
Solana and Aptos are developer-driven Layer 1 ecosystems whose growth depends on active protocol builders. Clear legal protections would reduce the regulatory overhang on their developer communities and could accelerate both protocol activity and institutional adoption.
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How significant is the breadth of this coalition compared to past crypto lobbying efforts?
The letter spans DeFi protocols, Layer 1 networks, custodians, exchanges, and venture capital — a cross-sector alignment that signals developer protections have become a shared industry red line rather than a niche request from any single segment.
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