What This Bill Does
This bill creates a "safe harbor," which means legal protection from certain regulations, for blockchain developers and companies that provide blockchain services. The protection applies when these developers and service providers do not control the digital assets that users own or have the ability to spend them. The bill aims to clarify which blockchain workers do and do not need government licenses or registration.
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Who It Affects
- Blockchain developers who create, maintain or distribute software for blockchain networks
- Companies that provide blockchain services to multiple users
- State governments enforcing licensing laws
- Digital asset users who access blockchain networks
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Key Provisions
- Blockchain developers and service providers cannot be required to get a money transmitter license, financial institution registration, or other state or federal licenses if they do not control users' digital assets (Sec. 2(a))
- No state can enforce any law that contradicts this bill, and no lawsuits can be brought under state or local laws that go against this protection (Sec. 2(b)(2))
- This bill does not change or affect intellectual property laws (Sec. 2(b)(1))
- A person or business has "control" only if they have the legal right to obtain information needed to start transactions spending digital assets (Sec. 2(c)(4))
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, blockchain developers and service providers who do not control users' digital assets will be freed from needing licenses or registrations. States cannot create or enforce laws that require these workers to be licensed or registered if they meet the conditions in this bill. States can still enforce laws that align with this bill's rules.
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Important Definitions
- **Blockchain developer**: Any person or business that creates, maintains or spreads software that helps build or run a blockchain network or service
- **Blockchain network**: A system of connected computers that work together to agree on the current state of a shared record, letting users join this agreement process without needing special software licenses or permission
- **Blockchain service**: Any information or computing service that gives multiple users access to a blockchain network, including services that let users send, receive, trade or store digital assets
- **Control**: The legal right or ability to get the information needed to start transactions that spend digital assets
- **Digital asset**: Any intangible property (property you cannot touch) that one person can own and transfer to another person directly without needing a middleman
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
IB
Union Calendar No. 403
118TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 1747
[Report No. 118–486]
To provide a safe harbor from licensing and registration for certain non-
controlling blockchain developers and providers of blockchain services.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 23, 2023
Mr. EMMER (for himself and Mr. SOTO) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
MAY 6, 2024
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 23, 2023]
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•HR 1747 RH
A BILL
To provide a safe harbor from licensing and registration
for certain non-controlling blockchain developers and pro-
viders of blockchain services.
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•HR 1747 RH
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Blockchain Regulatory
4
Certainty Act’’.
5
SEC.
2.
SAFE
HARBOR
FOR
NON-CONTROLLING
6
BLOCKCHAIN DEVELOPERS AND PROVIDERS
7
OF BLOCKCHAIN SERVICES.
8
(a) PROTECTION FOR NON-CONTROLLING BLOCKCHAIN
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SERVICES AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS.—No blockchain
10
developer or provider of a blockchain service shall be treated
11
as a money transmitter (as defined under State licensing
12
laws), a financial institution (as defined under section 5312
13
of title 31, United States Code), or any other State or Fed-
14
eral legal designation requiring licensing or registration as
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a condition to acting as a blockchain developer or provider
16
of a blockchain service, unless the developer or provider has,
17
in the regular course of business, control over digital assets
18
to which a user is entitled under the blockchain service or
19
the software created, maintained, or disseminated by the
20
blockchain developer.
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(b) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—
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(1) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW.—Nothing in
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this section shall be construed to limit or expand any
24
law pertaining to intellectual property.
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•HR 1747 RH
(2) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this section shall be
1
construed to prevent any State from enforcing any
2
State law that is consistent with this section. No
3
cause of action may be brought and no liability may
4
be imposed under any State or local law that is in-
5
consistent with this section.
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(c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
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(1)
BLOCKCHAIN
DEVELOPER.—The
term
8
‘‘blockchain developer’’ means any person or business
9
that creates, maintains, or disseminates software fa-
10
cilitating the creation or maintenance of a blockchain
11
network or a blockchain service.
12
(2)
BLOCKCHAIN
NETWORK.—The
term
13
‘‘blockchain network’’ means any system of networked
14
computers that cooperates to reach consensus over the
15
state of a computer program and allows users to par-
16
ticipate in the consensus-making process without the
17
need to license proprietary software or obtain permis-
18
sion from any other user. The term ‘‘blockchain net-
19
work’’ includes, specifically, a public network of com-
20
puters that cooperates to reach consensus over the
21
state of a distributed ledger describing transactions in
22
a digital asset.
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(3)
BLOCKCHAIN
SERVICE.—The
term
24
‘‘blockchain service’’ means any information, trans-
25
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•HR 1747 RH
action, or computing service or system that provides
1
or enables access to a blockchain network by multiple
2
users, including specifically a service or system that
3
enables users to send, receive, exchange, or store dig-
4
ital assets described by blockchain networks.
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(4) CONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’ means the
6
legal right, authority, or ability to obtain upon de-
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mand data sufficient to initiate transactions spend-
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ing an amount of digital assets.
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(5) DIGITAL ASSET.—The term ‘‘digital asset’’
10
means any form of intangible personal property that
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can be exclusively possessed and transferred person to
12
person without necessary reliance on an inter-
13
mediary.
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Union Calendar No. 403
118TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 1747
[Report No. 118–486]
A BILL
To provide a safe harbor from licensing and reg-
istration for certain non-controlling blockchain
developers and providers of blockchain services.
MAY 6, 2024
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,
and ordered to be printed
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00:47 May 07, 2024
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