The proposed bill clarifies that criminal code Section 1960 applies only to actors who control customer funds, not the developers who write the code.
- Recent cases involving Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet have heightened concerns over developer liability.
- The bill was announced amid a flurry of regulatory moves tied to the CLARITY Act and GENIUS Act.
- Binance Coin outperformed other crypto majors on Thursday night, edging higher while the rest traded in the red.
Binance (BNB) co-founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao applauded Congress’s move to introduce a new bill to protect crypto coders from criminal liability for how their code is used by others.
The bipartism bill dubbed ‘Innovation in Blockchain Development Act of 2026’ was introduced by Congress members Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), Ben Cline (R-VA), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) on Thursday. It looks to protect software developers from being prosecuted under criminal code Section 1960.
Crypto Regulation Heats Up On Capitol Hill
The move comes after Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet were found guilty of enabling money laundering through non-custodial privacy tools. The coders behind the tech were the primary targets in both cases.
According to the proposed bill, Section 1960 applies only to actors who control customer funds, not to developers who wrote the code. This is a differentiation that the crypto industry has also been trying to put into the CLARITY Act, currently under discussion in Washington, with the month-end deadline approaching.
“For too long, federal overreach has blurred the line between bad actors and the innovators building next-generation technology,” Representative Cline said in a post on X. “This bipartisan bill restores needed clarity by protecting developers who don’t control customer funds, while ensuring law enforcement can continue to target real criminals.”
The crypto news came amid a flurry of other regulatory developments, like another round of talks to finalise the CLARITY Act happening in Washington, and the federal banking regulator, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), proposing rules to finalise the GENIUS Act with rules that restrict stablecoin rewards.
BNB Outperforms While Broader Crypto Market Slips
BNB led gains among major cryptocurrencies, edging 0.3% higher in the last 24 hours while others traded in the red. BNB’s price was trading at around $631, but retail sentiment around the crypto token on Stocktwits continued to trend in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day.
The overall cryptocurrency market edged 0.7% lower in the last 24 hours, holding above $2.4 trillion. Bitcoin (BTC) moved lower in tandem to around $67,800 after crossing $69,000 on Wednesday. The apex cryptocurrency continues to trade nearly 50% below its record high of over $126,000 seen in October. Retail traders who bought at the peak would need Bitcoin’s price to rally by at least 90% in order to break even.
Read also: MARA Stock Surges Despite Deep Quarterly Loss – ‘No Longer Simply A Bitcoin Miner’ Says CEO
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<
