DOJ Clarifies Stance on Cryptocurrency Developers: No Prosecution for Good-Faith Coding

The U.S. Department of Justice has signaled a lenient approach toward software developers building decentralized cryptocurrency platforms, provided they act without criminal intent. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti emphasized at a Wyoming summit that merely writing code does not constitute a crime. "Our view is that merely writing code, without ill-intent, is not a crime," Galeotti stated, marking a shift from prior enforcement trends targeting unregistered money transmitters.

Decentralized exchanges, which lack control over user transactions, have long argued against being held to the same standards as licensed money transmitters like PayPal or Cash App. The DOJ's new stance follows the controversial conviction of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, highlighting the ongoing tension between innovation and regulation in the crypto sector.