Solana Institute CEO Urges US Senate to Protect Open-Source Developers in CLARITY Act
The US Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, is intended to clarify how oversight of crypto assets is divided between the SEC and CFTC. At issue is whether open-source developers, validators and noncustodial wallet providers that neither hold assets nor control transactions could still be treated as brokers, custodians or money transmitters and subjected to financial intermediary obligations.
On June 9, 2026, Solana Policy Institute CEO Kristin Smith urged the Senate to retain the BRCA protections in full. More than 60 crypto industry executives and founders signed the appeal, including Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko. The CLARITY Act passed the Senate Banking Committee by a 15–9 vote on May 14 and is awaiting consideration by the full Senate.
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The history behind this eventUS Senator Urges Leaders to Preserve Developer Protections in Crypto Bill
Protections for cryptocurrency software developers have become a key issue as the U.S. prepares to consider the CLARITY Act. Section 604, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, is intended to ensure that developers of noncustodial software who do not directly control users’ assets are not treated as money transmitters. The provision is crucial to the development of decentralized finance, or DeFi. Without it, developers could face compliance risks merely for writing open-source code.
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden wrote to Senate leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer on July 8, 2026, strongly urging them to retain Section 604. Wyden said the provision would not exempt criminal conduct but would prevent law-enforcement resources from being wasted. Some law-enforcement and religious organizations, however, fear it could weaken anti-money-laundering oversight and create legal loopholes, fueling a dispute over whether the protections should remain.
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