SE Wyoming News

U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have expressed serious concerns to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the Department of Justice's (DOJ) reinterpretation of the term "money transmission". The senators believe that this change diverges from the clear, logically sound definition established by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). They argue that this shift in interpretation threatens to criminalize fundamental aspects of Bitcoin and other crypto networks, thereby stifling responsible financial innovation in the U.S.

"The Biden administration steamrolling the existing and longstanding interpretation of FinCEN is not only wrong on the law, but undermines the entrepreneurial foundations that make America the global economic leader it is,” said Lummis. “Wallet software is no more to blame for illicit finance than a highway is responsible for a bank robber’s getaway car. I remain deeply committed to ensuring every American has the ability to self-custody their assets, and the transformative emerging Bitcoin and crypto asset industry has the ability to legally operate in this country. The right to store your private keys in your own wallet must be protected.”

Wyden added, “The government should fully enforce the law against individuals who use digital assets to launder money or evade taxes, but law enforcement agencies should not adopt conflicting interpretations of the law. I’m concerned the DOJ’s interpretation would treat software developers as criminals for merely writing and publishing code used by others – a dangerous precedent that contradicts decades of settled law and raises serious First Amendment concerns. Senator Lummis and I are urging the Justice Department to follow the lead of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and focus on people who illegally transmit digital assets, not coders and innovators.”

The DOJ's new expansive interpretation arguing that money transmission requirements extend to non-custodial software has been seen in two recent criminal cases.

To read more about this issue, you can find the full letter here.