Senator Lummis challenges DOJ’s stance on private crypto wallets

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis argued that the Department of Justice’s position on crypto self-custody conflicts with existing Treasury guidance and breaches the rule of law.

Lummis (R-WY) says she opposes the Biden Administration’s criminalization efforts related to the Bitcoin (BTC) network and decentralized finance (defi).

The Department of Justice’s stance has prompted legal actions against cryptocurrency entities, such as the indictment against Bitcoin mixer Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm for unlicensed money transmission.

The cryptocurrency community, led by advocacy groups like Coin Center, has strongly opposed the DOJ’s interpretation.

“Every functioning cryptocurrency wallet and smart contract is doing money transmission and every developer is engaged in unlicensed money transmission,” said Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, noting that this stance contradicts FinCEN’s established guidelines.

Coin Center has also filed an amicus brief in support of Roman Storm, asserting that the publication of Tornado Cash’s code is protected under the First Amendment.