U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has issued a stark warning that American software developers could face prosecution for simply publishing code if the long-awaited CLARITY Act does not pass during the current Congress. The bill, formally known as the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act, aims to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, including explicit protections for blockchain developers.
Speaking on Wednesday, Lummis emphasized the real-world risks: "If the Clarity Act doesn't pass this Congress, American software developers will be targeted again for prosecution in the near future just for publishing code. These are the stakes." Her comments follow recent progress in the Senate, where the Banking Committee approved its portion of the bill this month, building on the Agriculture Committee's earlier vote in January. However, the legislation still requires a full Senate vote, reconciliation steps, and a final agreement with the House before it can reach the President's desk.
The core concern centers on the lack of legal certainty that currently leaves developers vulnerable. Without clear statutory protections, writing and publishing open-source code could be interpreted as operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business or violating securities laws. The bill's provisions include the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, designed to shield developers and infrastructure providers from being classified as money transmitters when they do not control customer funds, and directives for the SEC to clarify when securities laws apply to decentralized finance trading protocols.
Lummis framed the legislation not merely as market regulation but as a fundamental safeguard for innovation and free expression. She warned that a failure to pass the act this year could empower a new administration—with fresh regulatory appointments—to intensify scrutiny, echoing enforcement actions under the Biden administration and former SEC Chair Gary Gensler. The warning serves as a rallying cry for colleagues to act, highlighting that the future of American software development in the crypto space hangs in the balance.
