Crypto advocacy group Coin Center said software code should be treated as protected speech under the First Amendment as developers face rising legal risks.
The argument comes as uncertainty grows over whether developers can be held liable for how their crypto software is used, following high-profile convictions tied to decentralised tools.
In a new report, Coin Center said writing and publishing code is comparable to producing books or recipes, and should receive the same constitutional protections.
“They are speakers and inventors, not agents, custodians, or fiduciaries,”
Said Coin Center executive director, Peter Van Valkenburgh.
The group outlined that regulation should only apply when developers actively control user assets or execute transactions, rather than simply publishing code.
“Lower court confusion over the distinction between conduct and speech naturally found in software publishing has fueled the development of what might be called a functional code theory of diminished First Amendment protection,”
Said Coin Center director of research, Lizandro Pieper.
The debate has intensified after cases such as Roman Storm and the Samourai Wallet founders, who were convicted over how their software was used rather than direct involvement in transactions.