The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the disbandment of its national cryptocurrency enforcement team.
In a memo directed to department employees, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the team would “be disbanded effective immediately”. He criticized the previous administration’s approach, asserting that the Justice Department was never intended to act as a regulator for digital assets. Blanche remarked, “The prior administration’s regulatory by prosecution strategy was ill-conceived and poorly executed.”
He emphasized that the current Justice Department will refrain from litigation or enforcement actions that attempt to impose regulatory frameworks on digital assets, leaving that responsibility to designated regulatory bodies. Blanche characterized the Trump administration’s support for cryptocurrency as “critical” to the United States’ economic growth.
Moving forward, the department intends to focus its investigations and prosecutions on individuals who exploit digital asset investors or utilize digital assets for criminal activities. Consequently, they will no longer target cryptocurrency exchanges, mixing services, or offline wallets for actions stemming from their users or “unwitting violations of regulations”.
Prosecutors have been instructed to terminate ongoing investigations that do not align with these new priorities. Since Trump’s presidency began, regulatory bodies like the SEC have sought to redefine their relationships with the cryptocurrency industry, adjusting cases and amending rules accordingly.
Notably, Trump and his family have shown significant interest in crypto, with Trump launching his own meme coin, $Trump, shortly before his inauguration—a venture that faltered when First Lady Melania rolled out her meme coin, $Melania.