The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), introduced by U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN), majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives, was made public last week. It states that blockchain service providers and developers who do not hold consumer funds are not money transmitters. Representative Darren Soto is co-leading this bill, which is nonpartisan. (D-FL). Emmer first put out a comparable bill in 2018.

“Crypto and blockchain technology, by nature, does not easily fit into the frameworks policymakers have considered when crafting regulations in the past. For too long, federal regulators and lawmakers have jammed the blockchain ecosystem into statutory definitions that just do not make sense,” Rep. Emmer explained. 

He further noted, “it should be simple: If you don’t custody consumer funds, you aren’t a money transmitter. My bill provides that necessary confirmation for the blockchain community.”

“The longer we delay providing this commonsense clarification, the greater risk that this transformative technology is driven overseas, depriving domestic users and investors. This bill will help America remain a technological leader in the crypto space,” the House majority whip continued.

Jerry Brito, Executive Director of Coin Center, a nonprofit focused on the policy issues facing cryptocurrencies, also commented, “Sound cryptocurrency policy requires calibrating regulations specifically for the activities that present risks that should be mitigated.” 

He explained:

“The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act would reinforce in law the established understanding that non-custodial services, such as mining or providing wallet software, should not be regulated in the same way as something like running a custodial cryptocurrency exchange,” he emphasized.