Open Source · US Senate · CLARITY Act · Cynthia Lummis · SEC · Cointelegraph
Solana Institute CEO confirms CLARITY Act must shield open-source developers
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Kristin Smith urged the Senate to preserve developer protections in the CLARITY Act, arguing open-source builders should not be regulated as financial intermediaries.
Key facts
- Solana Institute CEO Kristin Smith is urging the US Senate to pass the CLARITY crypto market structure bill with developer protections intact, arguing that open-source developers and blockchain
- Smith’s comments echo recent remarks by US Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner (SEC) Hester Peirce, who argued last week that publishing open-source blockchain code is protected speech
- Smith said more than 60 crypto CEOs and founders, including Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, signed an open letter urging the Senate to maintain robust developer protections in the CLARITY Act
- Speaking at the IC3 Blockchain Camp at Princeton University, Peirce said that “many blockchain projects involve publishing open-source software, which is generally a protected activity under the First Amendment
Summary
Solana Institute CEO Kristin Smith is urging the US Senate to pass the CLARITY crypto market structure bill with developer protections intact, arguing that open-source developers and blockchain infrastructure providers should not be regulated as financial intermediaries. X social media platform, Smith said the market structure legislation “has a real shot at passing the Senate,” making it critical for lawmakers to preserve protections for software developers. Smith said more than 60 crypto CEOs and founders, including Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, signed an open letter urging the Senate to maintain robust developer protections in the CLARITY Act. She said that open-source developers, validators and non-custodial wallet providers do not control user funds or execute transactions and therefore should not be treated as brokers or custodians.