Cynthia Lummis has pushed back against claims that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act fails to protect decentralized finance innovators, arguing that recent revisions will make it the “strongest protection for DeFi and developers ever enacted.”
Her remarks came in response to crypto lawyer Jake Chervinsky, who warned that Title 3 of the draft could weaken the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act by imposing know-your-customer requirements on non-custodial software developers.
“Don’t believe the FUD,” Lummis said, emphasizing that bipartisan efforts over recent weeks have strengthened the bill’s developer protections. She added that passing the Clarity Act is essential to ensure those safeguards take effect.
The latest revisions to the legislation have not yet been made public.
Jake Chervinsky said the DeFi protection measures in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act have been overshadowed by the intense focus on its stablecoin-related provisions.
He argued that the main concern with the latest draft from the Senate Banking Committee lies in Title 3, where the definition of money transmitters could still leave many non-custodial DeFi developers exposed to legal risk.
This remains an issue, he noted, even though the bill incorporates the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act in Section 604, which clarifies that developers who do not control user funds—and providers of non-custodial software—should not be treated as financial institutions subject to Bank Secrecy Act KYC requirements.
“The biggest challenge is ensuring non-custodial software developers aren’t misclassified as money transmitters,” Chervinsky said.
“That’s non-negotiable for DeFi, and it’s still unsettled.”
Jake Chervinsky’s concerns come amid a wave of high-profile cases against developers in the US, including Roman Storm, who was convicted in August 2025 of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
US lawmakers say the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is moving closer to a markup in the Senate Banking Committee, expected in April, following recent bipartisan progress—particularly around stablecoin-related provisions.
Cynthia Lummis has emphasized that passing the bill is key to ensuring DeFi developers receive clear legal protections under the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.
