A coalition of 112 crypto companies, investors, and advocacy groups has urged the US Senate to include clear protections for software developers and non-custodial service providers in the upcoming market structure bill.
The DeFi Education Fund and its partners authored the letter and sent it Wednesday to the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees. The letter said the industry spoke “with one voice” and urged lawmakers to prevent developers and non-custodial actors from being treated as intermediaries under outdated rules.
The letter read:
“Provide robust, nationwide protections for software developers and non-custodial service providers in market structure legislation. Without such protections, we cannot support a market structure bill.”
Major Names Sign the Letter
The signatories include Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, a16z, and Uniswap Labs. They also include major lobbying groups such as the Blockchain Association and the Chamber of Digital Commerce. Nearly every major advocacy group in the country signed the letter.
The broad participation shows concern over how the bill will treat open-source development. It also raises concern for non-custodial services, including wallets and decentralized applications. Without protections, lawmakers could categorize these entities as financial intermediaries. That move would expose them to compliance obligations not meant for them.
The companies said the absence of protections would leave gaps in federal law. They added that this would open the door to conflicting state-level rules. The industry stressed the need for consistent legal clarity.
Data Shows Decline in US Developer Share
The letter cited data from Electric Capital, which showed that the US share of open-source blockchain developers fell from 25% in 2021 to 18% in 2025. Crypto advocates blamed the decline on regulatory uncertainty.
They argued that the absence of clear federal protections risks pushing talent and projects outside the United States. The letter explained that developers need a safe legal environment to contribute to blockchain infrastructure without fear of being misclassified.
The signatories said such measures would build on bipartisan support already visible in the CLARITY Act, which passed earlier with overwhelming backing. That act also focused on offering legal certainty to developers.
Market Structure Bill Timeline
Senator Cynthia Lummis confirmed last week that a digital asset market structure bill will reach President Donald Trump’s desk before year-end. She said lawmakers will move it through the Senate Banking Committee in September. They will then advance it through the Senate Agriculture Committee in October.
The bill will define how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversees crypto markets. It will also set the role of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Lummis said the legislation could arrive before Thanksgiving. She added that it will set the framework for federal oversight.