Tom Emmer Dismisses Law Enforcement Objections to Clarity Act Crypto Developer Protections

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer dismissed law enforcement objections to crypto developer protections as a “red herring” aimed at slowing the Clarity Act’s progress through Congress.

“Tom Emmer brushes off law enforcement concerns over Clarity Act House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said concerns from law enforcement groups about crypto developer protections are being overstated”

@coindesk

Emmer defended the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act provision that would shield noncustodial software developers from being treated as money transmitters, arguing the U.S. needs clearer rules to keep innovators onshore.

@coindesk

CoinDesk reported that the Senate Banking Committee advanced the Clarity Act 15-9 with bipartisan support beyond Republicans, and Emmer pointed to that vote as evidence the bill still has momentum.

Emmer also said the House has spent years refining crypto market structure legislation and described CLARITY as the fifth or sixth iteration of the effort, with lawmakers seeking clear distinctions between digital assets regulated as securities, commodities, or cash equivalents.

He predicted Congress would ultimately send the package to President Trump’s desk, framing the legislation as a bipartisan priority rather than a partisan fight.

Bloomingbit said Emmer strongly supports DeFi developer protection provisions and defended the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) as exempting DeFi software developers without custody authority from money-transmitter regulation.

Emmer argued it is unfair to regulate developers who do not directly hold user assets, and he said the patchwork of state-level rules across the U.S. is hampering innovation.

bloomingbit

Bloomingbit also said Emmer argued the CLARITY Act, which passed the Senate Banking Committee with bipartisan support, could improve the global competitiveness of the U.S. digital-asset market.

In the same framing, @coindesk reported Emmer said lawmakers are trying to create clear distinctions between digital assets regulated as securities, commodities or cash equivalents while he criticized former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s enforcement approach under the Biden administration.

Emmer’s position was that the bills could soon pass Congress and be signed by President Donald Trump, with the direction of U.S. crypto regulation closely watched for its impact on the DeFi industry’s integration into the regulated financial system.

CoinDesk’s Exchange Benchmark - May 2026 described a scoring framework that includes deductions for exchanges that incur a major (–3%) or minor (–2%) negative event within the six-month review period.

“Summary - Tom Emmer said he supports DeFi developer protection provisions and defended the CLARITY Act”

bloomingbit

The same CoinDesk benchmark evaluates regulatory breadth and quality across licence types, VASP status, legal entity structure, industry memberships, insurance coverage, and sanctions compliance, while also measuring identity verification rigour through KYC/AML and transaction monitoring.

In parallel, Bitget’s coverage of the Clarity Act debate said outstanding issues include stablecoin yield provisions, DeFi oversight language, and ethics rules for lawmakers trading tokens, with Galaxy Digital estimating the bill’s 2026 passage odds at roughly 50-50.

Bitget also said Polymarket traders currently price it at approximately 46%, down sharply from 82% earlier in the year, and it described mid-summer as the effective deadline before midterm politics make passage significantly harder.

Across the debate, Emmer argued that companies want to build in the U.S. but need to understand “the rules of the road,” while @coindesk reported that Renato Mariotti raised questions about whether the CFTC would need additional funding or staffing under a new regulatory framework.