BlockBeats News: On January 17, the head of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee stated in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee that the "Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act" would weaken federal regulations on fund transfers and should not be included in legislation regarding the structure of the cryptocurrency market.
Republican Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, and top Democratic senator Dick Durbin wrote in a letter that Section 604 of the Banking Committee's market structure bill—intended to protect software developers from criminal liability arising from third-party misuse of their products—would "undermine" federal laws against unauthorized money transfer operations. "The Senate Judiciary Committee (which has jurisdiction over Title 18 of the U.S. Code) was neither consulted nor given an opportunity for prior meaningful review of the proposed changes."
The letter cited the Department of Justice's case against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, stating that the case demonstrated the prosecution's thorough argumentation regarding the importance of holding unlicensed parties involved in related illicit fund transfers accountable under current regulations. This letter represents another blow to the Market Structure Bill. Originally scheduled for debate and vote by the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, the agenda was canceled on Wednesday night amid growing opposition.
The latest dispute suggests that the legislative process could become even more complicated, as the Judicial Committee (responsible for legal affairs) would need to serve as the third committee to endorse the overall proposal if the clause remains in the bill. DeFi advocates insist that without these specific protective provisions, they may withdraw their support, signaling another difficult deadlock.
The letter emphasized: "Therefore, we urge the committee to reject any proposed provisions that could potentially weaken the government's ability to hold parties responsible for unauthorized money transfer operations, including Section 604."