Good News for Coders: You Won’t Go to Jail for Writing Defi Code… Probably 🎉

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Oh, what a splendid day it is in the world of decentralized finance-or as the cool kids call it, “Defi.” Federal prosecutors have finally decided that writing code isn’t akin to robbing a bank. Who would’ve thought? After years of scratching their heads and pointing fingers at coders like they were masterminds of chaos, the US Justice Department has made things delightfully clear: creating technology ≠ committing crimes. Phew! 😌

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti (a name that sounds like it belongs in a spy novel) dropped this bombshell during a digital assets summit in Wyoming. He declared-brace yourselves-that “merely writing code, without ill intent, is not a crime.” Bold move, Matthew. Truly groundbreaking stuff. It’s almost as if building tools shouldn’t automatically make you guilty of using them for mischief. Almost. 🤔

The Great Debate Over Money Transmission Rules

Ah yes, let’s talk about money transmission rules-the bane of every innovator’s existence. Traditional platforms like PayPal and Cash App are shackled with licenses, anti-money laundering checks, and customer verification hoops tighter than a circus act. But when it comes to decentralized exchanges, well, those pesky regulations don’t quite fit. Why? Because no one’s technically *in charge* of these platforms. They’re just lines of code floating around cyberspace, minding their own business while users do whatever they please. Chaos ensues, naturally. 🌀

NEW: US DOJ’S ACTING AAG MATTHEW GALEOTTI SAYS “OUR VIEW IS THAT MERELY WRITING CODE, WITHOUT ILL INTENT, IS NOT A CRIME. INNOVATING NEW WAYS FOR THE ECONOMY TO STORE AND TRANSMIT VALUE AND CREATE WEALTH, WITHOUT ILL INTENT, IS NOT A CRIME”

– DEGEN NEWS (@DegenerateNews) August 21, 2025

When Privacy Meets Prosecution

Remember Roman Storm, the co-founder of Tornado Cash? Poor chap got himself convicted by a New York jury on charges related to running an unlicensed money transmitting business. For those unfamiliar, Tornado Cash is a privacy service designed to make cryptocurrency transactions harder to trace-a noble goal, depending on who you ask. The jury couldn’t decide whether he was guilty of money laundering or violating sanctions, though. Awkward. 😬

Prosecutors painted him as a villain enabling illicit finance, but his supporters argued he was simply a coder doing what coders do best: coding. Now, thanks to Galeotti’s shiny new policy, future cases will require proof of actual bad intentions. No more throwing people in jail because they wrote something clever. Hooray for progress! 🎊

Galeotti emphasized that laws against unlicensed money transmission won’t apply unless there’s evidence of deliberate wrongdoing. So breathe easy, developers. Unless you’re actively helping fraudsters, Ponzi schemers, or global laundering networks (you know, the fun folks), you’re probably safe. For now. 😉

And so, dear reader, we find ourselves in a slightly saner world where innovation isn’t immediately equated with villainy. Isn’t that just dandy? 🍬

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2025-08-23 02:41