Defend Developers has formed a new political action committee to push for legal protections for crypto developers in the U.S. Congress. This move comes as the Senate considers the CLARITY Act, whose provisions for DeFi developers are still under negotiation.

Developer protection becomes a focus

A key element of the Clarity Act is providing liability exemptions for DeFi developers. The provisions aim to prevent developers from being held liable for how users use their software, nor should they be classified as money transfer institutions simply because of the existence of their development tools.

Supporters argue that software developers should not be automatically held liable for the actions of third parties. Opponents, however, worry that such exemptions would make it more difficult to combat illicit financial flows.

Who drives PAC?

This new PAC was initiated by Defend Developers and aims to support US blockchain developers, DeFi builders, and crypto infrastructure software engineers.

Gavin Zavatone, the founder of the fund and also the policy director of the DeFi Education Fund, told Crypto in America that developers have long faced regulatory uncertainty and enforcement pressure, rather than clear rules.

The bill is still progressing

The Clarity Act has passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 15 to 9 and is now on the Senate legislative agenda. The next step is to reconcile the Banking Committee version with the Senate Agriculture Committee version.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has not yet announced when a full Senate vote will be scheduled. Senator Cynthia Lummis also stated that discussions surrounding DeFi protections are ongoing, but negotiations have made progress.