TLDR
A new Trump-appointed acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, has significantly scaled back the U.S. Department of Justices dedicated crypto enforcement efforts.
- Blanche dismantled DOJs National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and told prosecutors to avoid purely regulatory crypto cases, softening one major pillar of U.S. enforcement.
- The memo has already affected at least one high?profile case, helping drop a charge against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm while leaving other criminal charges intact.
- The shift creates a more permissive short?term environment for some crypto businesses but raises ethics concerns and uncertainty about how durable this policy will be.
Deep Dive
1. What Changed Inside DOJ
Todd Blanche, formerly Trumps personal attorney, was promoted to acting attorney general after Trump fired Pam Bondi in early April 2026. As deputy AG, Blanche had already dismantled the DOJs National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), a unit created in 2022 to coordinate complex crypto cases, and issued a four?page memo directing prosecutors to stop pursuing regulatory violation cases focused on the crypto industry, such as certain registration or compliance offenses without clear fraud or money laundering components. These moves are described in detail in a Coindesk summary of his memo and promotion.
DOJ is deprioritizing some technical or paperwork?style violations in crypto, while keeping the door open for serious fraud, sanctions, and national security cases.
2. Immediate Impact On Crypto Cases
Blanches policy has already shaped the Southern District of New Yorks case against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm. The enforcement memo was cited when one charge against Storm was dropped, though he was still convicted on another and faces retrial on two additional counts in 2026, according to recent reporting. Privacy advocates argue this shows DOJ is not abandoning crypto prosecutions, only shifting emphasis.
Developers and intermediaries still face criminal risk around money laundering and sanctions, even if some narrower compliance cases become less likely.
3. Conflicts, Politics, And Durability
Blanches July 2025 ethics filing shows he held between $159,000 and $485,000 in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other assets, plus Coinbase stock, when he signed the crypto memo, then transferred them to family, which critics say breached ethics commitments and created conflicts of interest. These concerns, highlighted in multiple reports, make the policy a political target for future administrations or Congress.
The current easing of DOJ crypto pressure may be temporary; a change in leadership or a court challenge could quickly restore a tougher posture.
Conclusion
Trumps appointment of Todd Blanche has clearly reined in parts of DOJs crypto agenda by dismantling NCET and discouraging purely regulatory cases, while leaving core fraud and sanctions prosecutions in place. For crypto users and builders, that means slightly less risk from technical compliance actions, but ongoing exposure on criminal theories and heightened political uncertainty about how long this friendlier environment will last.
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