On Friday, the US Senate Banking Committee released its latest draft of its latest Clarity Act (Clarity). This proposes an amendment to US Code §1960(a).
Furthermore, the amendment will not only protect Bitcoin and crypto developers in the wake of the bill that entailed the death of the language, but will also retroactively protect those developers.
Section 501 of the draft section titled “Protecting Software Developers and Software Innovations” states that “This section and the amendments made in this section apply to conduct that occurs prior to, on, or after the date of this Act.”
Positive development of tornado cash developer Roman Storm
If the language is included in a version of the bill enacted by the law, Roman Storm, tornado cash developer convicted last month of running an unauthorized remittance business, could benefit.
Storm hints at the notion that he plans to resort to a conviction, according to a report by Eleanor Terrett.
If clarity becomes law and the language on retroactive developer protection is included in the draft legislation that passes, then Storm’s legal team is theoretically not an issue to win at the appeal level.
Unfortunately, if retroactive protection is included, if Clarity passes, this will not be useful for Samourai wallet developers who accepted a plea deal to run unlicensed remittance businesses in July.
Further protection for non-curative cryptographic developers
This latest, clear draft also provides that developers or providers of “uncontrolled” (non-custodial) cryptographic technology will not be treated as a money transfer business under § 5330 of the 31 US Act. This will also be applied retrospectively.
Non-controlled developers are defined as “the person who creates or works with a distributed ledger service (S), which, in a normal operational course, does not have the legal right of unilateral and independent ability to control transactions involving digital assets, including digital assets, without approval, consent, or direction from other third parties.
This definition applies to developers of cryptographic services, software, or hardware that help customers to facilitate self-management and storage of digital assets.
What’s coming next?
Congress has returned to the session as of September 2, 2025, and the US Senate Banking Committee will continue to prioritize clarification after accepting opinions from many members of the crypto industry on the bill.
A spokesman for the Senate Banking Committee told Bitcoin Magazine: “This legislative draft reflects feedback from hundreds of stakeholders on a wide range of questions as part of the July request for information (RFI) on the Discussion Draft.” “Chairman Scott, Senator Ramis and his colleagues will continue to work in a bipartisan way to protect investors, promote innovation and provide final products that will sustain a fixed, digital finance future in America.”
No hearings regarding the bill are currently on the Senate Banking Committee calendar.
Source: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/legal/new-clarity-act-draft-could-shield-bitcoin-and-crypto-developers-from-past-liability
