The U.S. Department of Justice has officially stated that developing software code without the intent to commit illegal acts is not considered a crime. This position was articulated by Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew J. Galeotti at an event for the American Innovation Project.
This is reported by Finway
Updating the Approach to Developers of Decentralized Solutions
Matthew Galeotti emphasized that the department will not bring charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1960 regarding the operation of unlicensed money transmission against developers of decentralized solutions, provided there is no malicious intent. According to him, prosecution will continue only against those individuals who are knowingly involved in fraud, money laundering, or evasion of sanctions.
The official stressed that if the software genuinely facilitates the automation of peer-to-peer transactions and developers do not have control over users’ assets, the prosecution will not support such cases.
“We believe that simply writing code without malicious intent is not a crime,” said Galeotti.
Impact on the Crypto Industry and the High-Profile Tornado Cash Case
This statement came shortly after a jury found Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm guilty of engaging in unlicensed money transmission. Galeotti clarified that the DOJ’s position has changed in recent months due to the policy of the Trump administration aimed at liberalizing the regulatory approach to the cryptocurrency sector.
As the official noted, the department will no longer plan to use criminal law to shape the regulatory framework in the digital asset sector. The priority remains on investigating and prosecuting real crimes, while regulation should remain the responsibility of specialized agencies.
The DOJ’s statement has resonated widely among representatives of the crypto industry. For instance, Variant Fund’s legal counsel Jake Chervinsky believes that the department’s new position could significantly impact the case against the co-founder of Tornado Cash.
“Roman Storm was just convicted on the same charge and under the same circumstances. Justice for Roman means dropping the case,” Chervinsky wrote in a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Previously, the company Paradigm expressed concerns about the risks for software developers in the U.S. due to the Tornado Cash case.