TechFlow reported on March 27, according to Decrypt, that over 30 cryptocurrency companies and foundations jointly sent a letter to the U.S. Congress urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to clarify key enforcement issues. The DeFi Education Foundation, along with 34 organizations including Coinbase, Kraken, Crypto.com, and venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, and Dragonfly, criticized the DOJ's "unprecedented and overbroad" interpretation of criminal statutes that defines crypto businesses as unlicensed money transmitters.
The letter stated that the DOJ's position, first introduced in 2023, "threatens the viability of software development underpinning the U.S. digital asset industry and beyond." Amanda Tuminelli, Executive Director and Chief Legal Officer of the DeFi Education Foundation, said the organization’s top policy priority is obtaining congressional clarification on Section 1960, which the DOJ has "abused" to carry out "regulation by prosecution."
The most prominent example of the DOJ's application of the "money transmitter" definition is its ongoing prosecution of Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash. Supporters in the crypto industry argue that the code written by Storm is protected speech under the First Amendment, but Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled that the case will proceed.
