U.S. Justice Department Official States Coding Without Malicious Intent Is Not Criminal
At a recent event hosted by the American Innovation Project, Matthew Galeotti, acting assistant attorney general in the DOJ's criminal division, addressed concerns about the prosecution of digital asset software developers. Key points include:
- The DOJ does not intend to pursue developers without money-laundering intentions.
- Galeotti emphasized that writing code without malicious intent is not a crime.
- He clarified that the DOJ will not use indictments to regulate the digital asset industry.
- New charges under current criminal codes will only apply if there is evidence of willful violation of legal requirements.
- Concerns arose following recent convictions of crypto developers, including Roman Storm and the Samourai Wallet team.
- Developers should not be held responsible for third-party misuse of their tools.
This stance supports ongoing lobbying efforts to protect developers in upcoming crypto market structure legislation in Congress.