Senate Judiciary Leaders Oppose Section 604, Warn It Would Weaken Money-Transmission Law

Senate Judiciary Committee leaders Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin said in a January 17 letter to the Senate Banking Committee that Section 604 of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act would "weaken" federal law on unlicensed money transmission. The section is intended to protect software developers from criminal liability when third parties misuse their products, but the letter said the Judiciary Committee, which oversees Title 18 of the U.S. Code, was not consulted for advance review and cited the Department of Justice's case against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm as illustrating prosecutors' ability to pursue parties allegedly tied to unlicensed money transmission under current regulations. The letter urged the Banking Committee to reject any provisions that may weaken the government's ability to hold unlicensed money transmission businesses responsible, and BlockBeats reported the Banking Committee canceled its planned Thursday debate and vote on Wednesday night amid growing opposition.