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The Defend Developers PAC (DDPAC) debuted on Wednesday, backed by executives and policy leads from the DeFi Education Fund, the Solana Policy Institute and Uniswap Labs, making it the latest crypto-focused political action committee aimed at shaping the 2026 midterms around a single legislative priority: legal protections for non-custodial software developers.
The PAC was founded by Gavin Zavatone, with board members including Uniswap Labs head of policy Brian Nistler, DeFi Education Fund CEO Amanda Tuminelli and Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine. DDPAC said it will back lawmakers who "actively champion developer protections, decentralized technology, and permissionless blockchain infrastructure." The move lands weeks after the Blockchain Leadership Fund — backed by Anchorage Digital and Chainlink Labs — launched in March with a broader digital-asset policy remit.
Why it matters
The PAC's mandate is narrow but pointed. Its central target is the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), a provision inside the Senate's larger market structure bill, the Clarity Act, that would clarify non-custodial developers are not money transmitters. BRCA was included in the Senate Banking Committee's version of the bill last month, but a late-stage compromise to lock in Democratic support stripped language that would have extended those protections to Section 301 of the bill — the Bank Secrecy Act sanctions requirements that law enforcement groups have flagged as a flashpoint.
On Tuesday, the Blockchain Association sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, signed by former national security and law enforcement officials, urging them to pass the Clarity Act. The bipartisan push suggests the industry is no longer trying to win the developer-protection fight on crypto-only terms — it is trying to neutralize the law-enforcement veto that has held the broader bill hostage.
Market impact
The political spending has already started producing primary results: pro-crypto candidate Christian Menefee unseated longtime Rep.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the Defend Developers PAC?
The Defend Developers PAC (DDPAC) is a cryptocurrency-focused political action committee that debuted on Wednesday, backed by executives and policy leads from the DeFi Education Fund, the Solana Policy Institute and Uniswap Labs. It will back lawmakers who support legal protections for non-custodial software…
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What is the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act?
The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) is a provision inside the Senate's larger Clarity Act market structure bill that would clarify non-custodial software developers are not money transmitters. It was included in the Senate Banking Committee's version of the bill last month.
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What was stripped from the Clarity Act in the recent compromise?
A late-stage compromise to secure Democratic support for the Clarity Act removed language that would have extended BRCA's developer protections to Section 301 of the bill, which covers Bank Secrecy Act-related sanctions requirements.
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Who is on the board of the Defend Developers PAC?
Board members include Uniswap Labs head of policy Brian Nistler, DeFi Education Fund CEO Amanda Tuminelli and Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine. The PAC was founded by Gavin Zavatone.
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How has crypto political spending already affected elections?
Pro-crypto candidate Christian Menefee unseated longtime Rep. Al Green in Texas last month, a result backed by crypto PAC spending. The Defend Developers PAC and the earlier Blockchain Leadership Fund are explicitly trying to replicate that template in the 2026 midterms.
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