With a lot of regulatory talk centered around The GENIUS Act and The CLARITY Act (the market structure bill) right now, it’s important that Bitcoin enthusiasts also pay attention to and support The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) — H.R. 1747.
The act, which was reintroduced to Congress on May 21, 2025 by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), provides “safe harbor from licensing and registration for certain non-controlling blockchain developers and providers of blockchain services.”
It also stipulates that no blockchain developer or provider of a blockchain service shall be treated as a money transmitter unless the developers or providers behind the project have control over user funds.
This bill is relevant because the developers for both Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash are currently facing charges for operating unlicensed money transmitter businesses, despite the fact that the developers for neither of these technologies ever had control over user funds.
It’s also important because, under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) didn’t just classify privacy services as money transmitters, but ancillary services such as Lightning nodes, rollup sequencers, and other Bitcoin and blockchain technology, as well.
If the BRCA isn’t enacted into law, there is a risk that all Bitcoin and crypto wallets as well as other noncustodial services and technologies will be made illegal and/or subject to KYC/AML laws.
While Rep. Emmer and Rep. Torres’ reintroducing this bill is a positive step, the congressmen need our help in making the BRCA a priority for this current Congress.
To help, go to SaveOurWallets.org and follow the directions on the website to contact the elected officials that represent your district and state in the federal government and tell them that you would like to see them support the BRCA.
If this act doesn’t pass, we will face significant hurdles regarding the scaling of Bitcoin and other blockchains as well as around privacy.
Yes, yes, I know some of you are saying to yourselves Bitcoin will win regardless of our actions (or that it’s already won) and that we don’t need to engage with politicians in the process.
I’m here to say 1.) this isn’t necessarily true, 2.) there are four developers currently facing trial (the Samourai and Tornado Cash developers) and pushing to get this bill passed may help them, 3.) if this bill doesn’t pass, scaling Bitcoin may be much more difficult, and 4.) there’s a reality in which we give up a lot of our legal right to privacy when using Bitcoin if the bill doesn’t pass.
So, with these points in mind, pick up the phone and/or send an email to your elected representatives and tell them you’d like to see them support the BRCA.
This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
