U.S. Department of Justice policy shift: Decentralized software developers will be exempt from certain criminal liabilities

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, a senior official from the U.S. Department of Justice stated on Thursday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to a group of cryptocurrency industry lobbyists and leaders that the U.S. government will no longer prosecute decentralized software developers for specific charges------just earlier this month, federal prosecutors successfully convicted Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm on this charge.

The charge stems from Section 1960(b)(1)(C) of the U.S. Code, which states that any operator of an unlicensed money transmission business who engages in transactions involving funds known to be derived from criminal activity or intended for illegal activities is in violation of the law. Just weeks ago, a Manhattan jury found Storm guilty of violating this law, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on all other charges.

At today's Jackson Hole policy summit, Acting Head of the Criminal Division Matthew Galeotti made it clear to the cryptocurrency industry leaders and lobbyists present that federal prosecutors will no longer apply the 1960(b)(1)(C) charge to decentralized software developers.