The U.S. Department of Justice said it will no longer seek criminal charges against software developers who create decentralized cryptocurrency platforms provided there is no evidence of intent to facilitate wrongdoing. "Merely writing code, without ill intent, is not a crime," Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti told the American Innovation Project summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on 21 August. Galeotti said prosecutors would refrain from using unlicensed money-transmitter provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 1960 against developers when the software is “truly decentralized,” non-custodial and automates only peer-to-peer transactions. The guidance follows an April memorandum from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche directing prosecutors to avoid treating criminal statutes as de-facto regulation for the digital-asset industry. The clarification marks a retreat from earlier cases that alarmed the open-source community, including this month’s conviction of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm for conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Galeotti stressed that the department will continue to pursue actors who knowingly launder funds, evade sanctions or commit fraud, but said neutral tool builders without criminal intent should not fear prosecution.