#200 - Money Transmission & Developer Liability
From Law of Code by Jacob Robinson
May 4, 2026 · 1h 49m · Season 2 · Episode 200
About this episode
This episode explores the implications of U.S. money transmission law on software developers in the context of recent prosecutions.
Can the U.S. government send a software developer to prison for writing and publishing code? That's the question at the center of the Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet prosecutions, and every crypto founder, builder and investor should understand the answer. This deep-dive episode walks through the history of U.S. money transmission law, how the DOJ is applying it to non-custodial software developers, what the Roman Storm verdict actually means, and what new legislation could change in 2026. Guests: Peter Van Valkenburgh — Executive Director, Coin Center Amanda Tuminelli — Chief Executive Officer, DeFi Education Fund Brian Klein — Partner at Cooley, lead defense attorney for Roman Storm Jake Chervinsky — Hyperliquid Policy Center (cameo) This is the most comprehensive podcast I've ever done. Welcome to Law of Code, Season 2. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 3:18 What's at stake? 4:40 Which developers are at risk 6:03 Custodial vs. non-custodial 9:32 What is a money transmission license? 9:47 Steamships, the telegraph & Western Union 12:14 The Bank Secrecy Act 13:38 Section 1960 15:26 The Patriot Act 19:39 FinCEN's 2013 and 2019 guidance 24:42 OFAC sanctions Tornado Cash 27:30 How…
People in this episode
Host: Jacob Robinson
Guests: Peter Van Valkenburgh, Amanda Tuminelli, Brian Klein, Jake Chervinsky
Topics covered
- money transmission law
- developer liability
- crypto prosecutions
- Tornado Cash
- Samourai Wallet
- U.S. legislation
- non-custodial software
Keywords
- money transmission
- developer liability
- Tornado Cash
- crypto law
- U.S. legislation
- non-custodial
- DOJ prosecutions
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Coin Center, DeFi Education Fund, Cooley, Hyperliquid Policy Center, Tornado Cash, Samourai Wallet, DOJ, FinCEN, OFAC, Bank Secrecy Act
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