A coalition of 34 crypto corporations and advocacy teams is urging Congress to push again in opposition to what they name an “unprecedented and overly expansive” authorized interpretation utilized by the US Division of Justice (DOJ) in its case in opposition to the builders of crypto mixer Twister Money.
In a letter dated March 26, the group—led by the DeFi Training Fund and co-signed by main trade gamers together with Coinbase and Kraken—warned lawmakers that the DOJ’s present stance may criminalize almost all blockchain software program builders.
The letter was despatched to key committees in each the Home and Senate, together with the Senate Banking Committee and Home Monetary Companies Committee.
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DOJ’s Twister Money Case Threatens US Crypto Improvement, Trade Coalition Warns
The coalition argues that the DOJ’s authorized technique, first launched in its August 2023 indictment of Twister Money builders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, poses a menace to the complete digital asset improvement ecosystem in the US.
Storm, who has pleaded not responsible and is presently out on bail, is in search of to have the costs dismissed. Semenov, a Russian nationwide, stays at massive.
The DOJ has filed comparable fees in opposition to the founders of Samourai Pockets, who additionally face cash laundering allegations and have pleaded not responsible.
Central to the coalition’s grievance is the DOJ’s interpretation of what constitutes a “cash transmitting enterprise.” The letter factors to 2 U.S. authorized codes—Title 31 Part 5330 and Title 18 Part 1960—that outline and criminalize unlicensed cash transmission.
It additionally references 2019 steering from the Monetary Crimes Enforcement Community (FinCEN), which clarified that software program builders who don’t management consumer funds usually are not thought of cash transmitters.
NEW: Right now, the DeFi Training Fund is proud to publish a coalition letter of trade leaders & advocates calling on Congress to appropriate, what in our collective view, is the DOJ’s harmful misinterpretation of cash transmission legal guidelines.
A thread
https://t.co/ZbcifAzbj8 pic.twitter.com/AqhHDCjGc3
— DeFi Training Fund (@fund_defi) March 26, 2025
Nonetheless, the DOJ seems to have dismissed these distinctions, making use of its personal interpretation to construct instances in opposition to non-custodial builders.
The outcome, the coalition claims, is a authorized contradiction between FinCEN and the DOJ, which places builders in an unsure and doubtlessly perilous place.
“If left unaddressed, the DOJ’s method may lengthen felony legal responsibility to software program builders who by no means deal with buyer funds,” the letter warned. “This might considerably chill innovation and improvement within the U.S.”
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U.S. Treasury: No Ultimate Ruling Wanted After Twister Money Faraway from Sanctions Checklist
Earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury Division said that no additional court docket motion is required within the ongoing lawsuit over its 2022 sanctions on crypto mixer Twister Money.
The Treasury’s Workplace of International Belongings Management (OFAC) initially blacklisted the platform, alleging it was utilized by North Korea’s Lazarus Group to launder illicit funds. In response, six customers, backed by Coinbase, sued the division, claiming the sanctions had been illegal.
On March 21, the Treasury eliminated Twister Money and its associated good contracts from the sanctions listing, asserting in a court docket submitting that the case is now moot.
Nonetheless, Coinbase’s Chief Authorized Officer, Paul Grewal, disagreed, arguing that delisting the platform doesn’t resolve the authorized query on the coronary heart of the lawsuit.
Energy doesn’t recede voluntarily. It is gasps and it gasps till it not can. @USTreasury filed one more late Friday pleading in opposition to Twister Money. After grudgingly delisting TC, they now declare they’ve mooted any want for a last court docket judgment. However that is not the regulation,… pic.twitter.com/Je8KD51X0q
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) March 23, 2025
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Key Takeaways
A coalition of 34 crypto corporations is urging Congress to oppose the DOJ’s interpretation of cash transmission legal guidelines used within the Twister Money case.
The group argues the DOJ’s stance may criminalize non-custodial software program builders and threaten blockchain innovation within the US
Regardless of the Treasury eradicating Twister Money from the sanctions listing, Coinbase insists the authorized points on the core of the case stay unresolved.
The put up Crypto Corporations Urge Congress to Problem DOJ’s Broad Authorized Case Towards Twister Money Builders appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
