Federal cypto team dissolved
Prosecutors in unit told to narrow focus
By: Josh Meyer
USA Today
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has shut down its unit that investigates cryptocurrency fraud "effective immediately," even as the Trump administration ramps up its embrace of the emerging digital currency market, according to a memo by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
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In a memo sent Monday [04/07/2025] night, Blanche directed the closure of the Nation la Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and ordered prosecutors to pivot to investigating transnational criminal organizations and terrorist groups that use crypto to engage in illicit transactions.
..... The move is one of several efforts by the Trump administration to scale back enforcement of white-collar and finical crimes and divert the resources to fighting drug traffickers and immigration-related human smugglers.
..... In his four-page memo, Blanche said the new order was meant to bring the Justice Department in line with President Donald Trump's own Executive order 14178, which decreed that clarity and certainly regarding enforcement policy " are essential to supporting a vibrate and inclusive digital economy and innovation in digital assets.
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Blanche, one of several Trump criminal defense lawyers at the top ranks of the DOJ, said in the memo that the president "has also made clear that '(w)e are going to end the regulatory weaponize against digital assets.
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"The Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator. However, the prior Administration used the Justice Department to pursue a reckless strategy of regulation by prosecution, which was ill conceived and poorly executed."
..... Public corruption and transnational crime experts warned that shutting down the unit could divert critical resources form efforts to stop criminals and corrupt regimes from using cryptocurrency for illicit gain, even as Trump claims he wants to crack down on them.
..... "dangerous US adversaries rely on cryptocurrencies to launder money and evade sanctions," Nate Sibley, an anti-corruption expert and director of the Kleptocracy Initiaitve at the Consevaitve Hudson Institute think tank in Washington, D.C., said in a post on X. "If this is accurate, hard to see how it squares with - for example - cracking down on cartel finances or maximum pressure actions on Iran."
..... The Nation la Cryptocurency Enforcement Team was established in February 2022 to address the challenge posed by the criminal misuse of crytocurrencies and digital assets.
..... According to its website, the team is composed of attorneys form across the justice Department, including prosecutors with backgrounds in cryptocurrency, cybercrime, money laundering and forfeiture.