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White House Pushes Clarity Act DeFi Protections With Law Enforcement
White House meets law enforcement Monday on Section 604 developer liability. With 4 weeks before recess, the Clarity Act's 60-vote math hinges on resolving law enforcement opposition.
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The White House invited law enforcement groups to a meeting Monday to work through objections to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act's developer-liability language, CoinDesk reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The session focused on Section 604, drawn from the earlier Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. The provision would shield software developers who do not control the tools they build from being classified as money transmitters under federal law. The crypto industry considers Section 604 essential for decentralized finance products to operate inside the United States. Without it, any developer who writes code later used for transfers could face state-level money-transmitter licensing, a cost and risk that has pushed several projects offshore.
The National Sheriffs Association has expressed concern. In a May letter to Senate Banking Committee leadership, the group wrote that "no good reason supports giving mixers, tumblers, and DeFi a blanket exemption." The letter acknowledged that some developers genuinely fall outside money-transmission activity. It added that "plenty of others are" engaged in conduct that should trigger Bank Secrecy Act obligations.