U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said she is “deeply troubled” by the Department of Justice's (DOJ) stance on unmanaged software.
in Tweet, Lummis expressed concern about the Department of Justice's “very aggressive argument that non-custodial software may qualify as a money transfer service.” He added that the Justice Department's position is “inconsistent with existing Treasury guidance” and “violates the rule of law.”
“The argument against self-custody software threatens fundamental property rights that are at the core of being an American,” Lummis said, adding, “For the right to keep your own keys and run your own nodes. “I will fight,” he added. She further accused the Biden administration of “criminalizing the core tenants of the Bitcoin network and decentralized finance.”
Lummis' comments come in the wake of two recent cases in which Justice Department prosecutors have pursued criminal charges against software developers for unauthorized transfers: the unsealed indictment against Bitcoin mixer Samurai Wallet and the Tornado Cash developer. We have received a written response to the defendant's motion to dismiss in the lawsuit. Roman storm.
The Justice Department's interpretation of the money transfer law, which targets wallet developers who cannot directly control user assets, has sparked a backlash among the crypto community.
Cryptocurrency advocacy group CoinCenter characterized the Justice Department's position as “massive overreach” and argued that it contradicts existing FinCEN guidance and rulings.
Peter Van Valkenburgh, research director at Coin Center, said in a blog post that the Justice Department's position is that “all functioning crypto wallets and smart contracts 'perform' money transfers, and all developers “is engaged in unauthorized remittance transfers.''
The group filed a court brief defending Roman Storm, arguing that the release of Tornado Cash's code is protected by the First Amendment.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
