Representatives Ritchie Torres and Tom Emmer have reintroduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), a bipartisan initiative aimed at providing clarity for developers, miners, stakers, and other innovators working on non-custodial crypto infrastructure in the United States.
Rep. Torres emphasized the significance of the bill by stating: "The United States should be the global home for responsible innovation, not a place where developers are punished for building open-source software or experimenting with new technologies. This bill provides clear, commonsense rules for developers who never take custody of consumer funds. If we want to keep the next generation of builders in the United States, this kind of legal clarity is essential."
Coin Center supports this legislative effort, noting that "The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act is the best way to protect American crypto developers and innovators from undue regulation by prosecution." They highlighted issues with recent applications of licensing laws that have hindered privacy and freedom-enhancing technology development in the U.S., stressing that "Avoiding surprise prosecutions, creating legal clarity, and encouraging free speech and software development are not partisan issues; they are core American values, and the BRCA codifies them."
Majority Whip Emmer has been advocating for this approach since 2018. He argues that developers of decentralized tools who do not handle consumer funds should not face regulations similar to those imposed on custodial financial institutions.
The involvement of Rep. Torres and Majority Whip Emmer as lead sponsors—both co-chairs of the Crypto Caucus and members of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Digital Assets—enhances the likelihood that this focused, non-partisan bill will become law.
