Regulation
Trump’s crypto platform lacks protections for key developers amid Biden crackdown
The Republican National Convention has endorsed former President Donald Trump’s new platform, marking a significant shift toward a pro-innovation stance on cryptocurrency.
The platform includes commitments to defend Americans’ rights to mine bitcoin, manage their digital assets themselves, and transact freely. However, one crucial element is missing: protection for decentralized project developers from government interference and criminal prosecution.
The Biden Administration’s Hostile Stance on Cryptocurrencies
However, the cryptocurrency industry has faced significant hostility from President Joe Biden’s administration, with Ripple and Coinbase among the companies under attack.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been particularly diligent with developers of privacy-preserving technologies. Notably, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, the developers of Tornado in cashhave faced drastic legal consequences.
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Tornado Cash, a decentralized protocol for private Ethereum transactions, due to its use by the Lazarus Group and other nefarious actors for money laundering.
The Justice Department charged Storm and Semenov with conspiracy to commit money laundering and sanctions violations, although they were not the primary architects of the software.
While these lawsuits may be legitimate, critics say they misrepresent the developers’ intentions and pose a risk to innovation in privacy-enhancing technologies. Simply publishing open-source software is a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment, but the law on penalties applied For developers, however, this remains worrying.
Privacy Protection Technologies and their Proelium
Tornado Cash and other privacy tools are useful and serve the purpose of data protection and privacy. Features such as zero-knowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption are essential to protect personal data.
The US government has traditionally funded the creation of similar applications, such as Tor and Signal, that enhance user privacy and secure communications. But it’s a slippery slope when the state goes after developers for potential misuse of their own tools, threatening and stifling innovation in key areas like consumer protection and financial sovereignty.
Trump’s position on innovation
Ohio Senator JD Vance’s joining the Trump campaign signals a pro-innovation and pro-crypto stance. A Bitcoin owner and former Silicon Valley professional, Vance has worked on legislation aimed at clarifying regulation of the cryptocurrency industry.
Trump has criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the cryptocurrency sector and is expected to speak at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville. In contrast to the current leadership regime, his campaign policies promise a more favorable environment for cryptocurrencies to come to fruition.
The need to protect developers
While the regulations included in Trump’s platform support laudable goals to protect the rights of Bitcoin miners and users, they lack provisions for the rights of decentralized application developers.
Because of lack of guarantees of freedom Due to government intervention and criminal charges, advancements in the crypto sphere remain unpredictable.
A second Trump administration must therefore focus on supporting the rights of developers working on the technologies that facilitate bitcoin mining, personal wallet custody, and fee-free transactions. These developers must be protected to make the virtual currency space safer and more conducive to innovation.