A new cryptocurrency-focused political action committee has emerged, joining the growing field of crypto-backed political funding operations as midterm elections approach. On Wednesday, the Defend Developers PAC debuted, federally registered last month, backed by executives and policy leads from the DeFi Education Fund, the Solana Policy Institute and Uniswap Labs. According to reports from The Block and Crypto in America, the PAC's founder, Gavin Zavatone, stated that developers building decentralized technologies have faced regulatory uncertainty and enforcement actions instead of clear rules and guidelines. The PAC positions itself as the first dedicated exclusively to supporting members of Congress who champion legal protections for crypto developers, DeFi builders and blockchain technologists. Defend Developers is classified as a hybrid PAC, meaning it can make direct contributions to candidates following Federal Election Commission limits while also channeling unlimited corporate contributions into independent ads. The group plans to support only incumbent members of Congress, arguing that donor dollars carry the greatest impact when directed toward lawmakers already shaping policy. DDPAC aims to raise and deploy more than six figures across dozens of congressional races during the midterms, with funding coming primarily from crypto founders, builders and executives, though no dollar amounts have yet been disclosed about its initial funding.
Over the past year, the supporting organizations have been pushing for software developer protections, particularly in a larger cryptocurrency market structure bill called the CLARITY Act in the Senate. Central to that effort is the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), which would clarify that non-custodial developers are not money transmitters. As reported by The Block and Crypto in America, Defend Developers PAC advocates for the Clarity Act and its Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) to explicitly define non-custodial developers as "transferors of funds," thereby exempting them from related licenses and anti-money laundering obligations. Developer protections have become one of the key flashpoints in ongoing negotiations over the Clarity Act. Supporters argue that developers should not be held liable for how third parties use their open-source software, while law enforcement groups warn such protections could complicate efforts to prosecute bad actors. While BRCA was included in the version of the Clarity Act approved by the Senate Banking Committee last month, a late-stage compromise removed language extending protections to Section 301 addressing Bank Secrecy Act-related sanctions requirements. The PAC plans to back lawmakers who actively champion developer protections, decentralized technology, and permissionless blockchain infrastructure. The PAC's stated goal is to ensure that software development in the crypto industry is not unfairly targeted under existing or future financial regulations.
BRCA has also raised concerns among law enforcement groups, who say that the language in that provision could make it hard to crack down on financial crime. To add weight to the legislative push, 160 former national security, intelligence, and law enforcement officials signed a letter organized by the Blockchain Association urging Senate leadership to pass the Clarity Act swiftly. The letter argued that the bill preserves prosecutors' and investigators' ability to pursue illicit activity involving digital assets. On Tuesday, the Blockchain Association sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, which was signed by former national security and law enforcement officials, urging them to pass the Clarity Act. For too long, developers building decentralized technologies have faced regulatory uncertainty and enforcement actions instead of clear rules and guidelines, as noted by The Block and Crypto in America. Zavatone added that some policymakers still lack a full understanding of how software development works while legislation and regulatory frameworks for digital assets are being drafted.
Senate momentum around the CLARITY Act increased after the Senate Banking Committee approved the measure in a bipartisan 15-9 vote in May. As per reports, the bill has since been placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar, making it eligible for floor consideration once Senate leadership schedules debate. Before that happens, lawmakers still need to reconcile the Banking Committee's version with the text being considered by the Senate Agriculture Committee. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has not yet announced when the legislation could reach the Senate floor. Comments from Senator Cynthia Lummis suggest negotiations remain active. During an interview on CNBC, Lummis pushed back against criticism from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who had argued that the bill lacked anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act provisions. Responding to those claims, Lummis said the legislation contains multiple references clarifying that AML and BSA requirements already applicable to financial institutions would also apply to crypto firms. She added that lawmakers are working toward combining various digital asset proposals into a single package that can be presented for cloture and floor consideration. Lummis also indicated that discussions surrounding DeFi protections remain ongoing, while noting that negotiators have made progress on the issue. Senator Lummis said that the crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, was likely to reach the Senate floor after the recess on the 4th of July rather than before, as reported by AMBCrypto.
The group plans to support only incumbent members of Congress, arguing that donor dollars carry the greatest impact when directed toward lawmakers already shaping policy. DDPAC aims to raise and deploy more than six figures across dozens of congressional races during the midterms, with funding coming primarily from crypto founders, builders and executives. The cryptocurrency industry has become a major force in the 2024 election cycle, with the Blockchain Leadership Fund debuting in March to support candidates working on digital asset and blockchain policies. PACs are increasingly being created to back crypto interests, with the Blockchain Leadership Fund having backing from Anchorage Digital and Chainlink Labs. So far, PACs are having an impact following the unseating of longtime Rep. Al Green in Texas by pro-crypto Rep. Christian Menefee last month, demonstrating the growing political influence of the crypto industry. The PAC's strategy of targeting multiple congressional races suggests an effort to build broad-based political support rather than focusing solely on a small number of high-profile candidates. The new outfit aims to build a 'lasting political infrastructure' for developers and investors that extends beyond a single election cycle, as noted by AMBCrypto. Zavatone emphasized that DDPAC is deliberately unaffiliated with any one entity, built to unify the crypto industry around a single core value: protecting the people building the technology that will shape our future.
