U.S. Department of Justice Policy Shift: Decentralized Software Developers to Be Protected from Certain Liability

BlockBeats News, August 22nd, according to Decrypt, a senior official from the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, told a group of cryptocurrency industry lobbyists and leaders that the U.S. government will no longer prosecute decentralized software developers under specific charges—just earlier this month, federal prosecutors successfully convicted Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm on these charges.

The charge stems from Title 18 U.S. Code § 1960(b)(1)(C), which states that any unlicensed money transmitting business operator involved with funds known to be derived from illegal activity or intended for unlawful use is considered illegal. Just weeks ago, a Manhattan jury found Storm guilty of violating this law, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison. The jury, however, failed to reach a verdict on all other charges.

During today's Jackson Hole policy summit, Matthew Galeotti, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, explicitly stated to the attending cryptocurrency industry leaders and lobbyists that federal prosecutors will no longer bring 1960(b)(1)(C) charges against decentralized software developers.