Bitcoin and crypto groups have urged the U.S. Senate to protect open source developers, warning that without safeguards, innovation could flee overseas and threaten America’s crypto ambitions.
Over 110 crypto investors, developers, and advocacy groups have signed a letter to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, warning that without strong protections for open-source software developers, crypto innovation could shift overseas and adoption could stall.
The letter, authored by the DeFi Education Fund and backed by groups including the Bitcoin Policy Institute, the Blockchain Association, and the Digital Chamber, urges Congress to “provide robust, nationwide protections for software developers and noncustodial service providers in market structure legislation.”
“Without such protections, we cannot support a market structure bill,” the letter states.
It highlights the difference between the traditional, intermediated financial system and the open-source development model, stressing that developers must not be forced into “unworkable regulatory categories.”
The signatories frame this as a competitiveness issue, noting that if the U.S. is to fulfil President Trump’s ambition of becoming the “crypto capital of the world,” it must foster the same environment of open innovation that drove the early internet.
The letter points to a decline in the U.S. share of open-source developers, which has fallen from 25% in 2021 to 18% in 2025, citing “lack of regulatory clarity” as the main driver.
It acknowledges that both the House and Senate have included language from the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) and the Keep Your Coins Act in their drafts of the CLARITY Act, which safeguard developers of noncustodial crypto software. Still, it stresses the need for explicit protections to ensure no individual or entity is regulated solely for creating, publishing, or maintaining blockchain networks, or enabling users to access them while retaining custody of their own funds.
Finally, the letter underscores bipartisan momentum, pointing to the 294 members of the House who voted for the CLARITY Act, while urging the Senate to strengthen its draft with clearer protections for developers.
