I. Questions / Request for clarity
We write as independent open-source developers and civic technologists to request a formal regulatory Safe Harbor for the creators of non-custodial, peer-to-peer communication tools. To ensure the United States remains a leader in open-source disaster resilience, we urge the Commissions to publicly clarify the following points:
"The 1-to-1 Exemption"Please confirm that software interfaces restricted entirely to facilitating manual, 1-to-1 bilateral agreements--without a multiple-to-multiple automated matching engine--are classified as communication tools, not Swap Execution Facilities (SEFs). "Zero-Fee Safe Harbor": Please confirm that software developers who publish open-source smart contract templates, do not take custody of user funds, and extract zero fees from the execution of the contracts are not acting as financial intermediaries.
II. Context:
Developers are actively building open-source digital tools that allow property owners to mutually hedge against climate disasters (such as hurricanes and wildfires) through a peer-to-peer digital "cofradÃa" model.
In these models, users do not trade standardized assets on a central limit order book. Instead, the software acts strictly as a static digital bulletin board. It allows an individual to post a specific, localized geographic risk profile and manually negotiate a private, bilateral escrow agreement with one specific counterparty. The software publishers never touch the funds, automatically match the users, or profit from the settlement.
III. Aligning with Recent Precedent
We strongly support the Commissions' recent actions--specifically the CFTC's March 2025 withdrawal of Staff Advisory Letter 21-19 and the judicial precedent set in Risley v. Uniswap. Both underscore a critical reality that publishing standardized computer code is not the same as operating a financial exchange.
Codifying a Safe Harbor for zero-fee, bilateral software publishers will protect vital public-goods technology from being misclassified under legacy, intermediary-based frameworks.
Respectfully submitted, Anonymous