U.S. Crypto Groups Celebrate Inclusion of BRCA in CLARITY Act Draft

Eight major U.S. cryptocurrency industry associations have jointly announced the inclusion of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) in the latest draft of the CLARITY Act. This development marks a significant step toward protecting developers of non-custodial, peer-to-peer technologies while ensuring robust oversight of custodial financial institutions.

The updated bill reflects a delicate balance, building on the 2019 FinCEN guidance to clarify that developers and infrastructure providers should not be regulated as money transmitters if they do not control customer funds. Coin Center's Neeraj Agrawal emphasized the urgency of this clarification, noting that recent Department of Justice prosecutions have disregarded existing guidance.

The BRCA aims to provide legal clarity for software developers, codifying the 2019 FinCEN stance on unlicensed money transmission. Prominent crypto policy organizations, including Coin Center, praised the move as a critical advancement for the industry.