TheBlock
The Defend Developers PAC launched Wednesday, backed by executives from the DeFi Education Fund, the Solana Policy Institute, and Uniswap Labs — making it the first crypto political action committee with an exclusive focus on protecting software developers from regulatory enforcement. Board members include Uniswap Labs Head of Policy Brian Nistler, DeFi Education Fund CEO Amanda Tuminelli, and Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine.
Why it matters
The PAC's formation is a direct response to a fault line running through the Clarity Act, the Senate's flagship crypto market structure bill. While the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) — which would clarify that non-custodial developers are not money transmitters — was included in the version approved by the Senate Banking Committee last month, a late-stage compromise to secure Democratic support stripped out language extending those protections to Section 301, which covers Bank Secrecy Act-related sanctions requirements. Law enforcement groups have also pushed back on BRCA, arguing it could complicate financial crime enforcement. The Blockchain Association responded Tuesday with a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, co-signed by former national security officials, urging passage of the full Clarity Act.
Market impact
The crypto industry's political infrastructure is expanding rapidly ahead of the midterms. The Blockchain Leadership Fund, backed by Anchorage Digital and Chainlink Labs, launched in March with a similar mandate. The sector's electoral muscle was already demonstrated when pro-crypto Rep. Christian Menefee unseated longtime Rep. Al Green in Texas last month.
CoinDesk