Non-custodial developer criminal liability explicit protection removed, Coin Center says Roman Storm prosecution theory still not excluded

Odaily reports that Bitcoin News posted on X platform stating that Coin Center says the latest revised BRCA text removes the provision that provided explicit criminal liability protection for developers who do not control user funds under 18 U.S.C. § 1960. The revised text would still protect developers who do not control user funds from being deemed money transmitters under the Bank Secrecy Act and FinCEN regulations, thereby significantly raising the difficulty of prosecuting developers solely for failing to obtain a money transmitter license or register with the federal government. However, the text cannot prevent prosecutors from arguing that developers knowingly transmitted funds derived from criminal activity, a theory that has become the core basis in the criminal cases against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm and Samourai Wallet developers. Coin Center believes that this compromise represents substantive progress on the regulatory front, but developers still face broader money transmission criminal prosecution theories from the U.S. Department of Justice; if the CLARITY Act passes with the revised BRCA, the related disputes will mainly shift to the courts.