The US Department of Justice has officially disbanded its national cryptocurrency enforcement team, marking a dramatic policy shift under the Trump administration. In a memo to DOJ employees, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the team was “disbanded effective immediately,” slamming the Biden-era approach as a misguided attempt at “regulation by prosecution.”
Blanche criticized the previous administration’s strategy of using criminal litigation to police the crypto sector, calling it “ill conceived and poorly executed.” Under the Trump administration, the DOJ will now focus solely on prosecuting bad actors who use digital assets for crimes or defraud investors, rather than going after crypto platforms, wallets, or services over regulatory violations.
“Digital assets are critical to US economic development,” Blanche wrote, emphasizing the administration’s intention to foster crypto innovation by allowing financial regulators—not criminal prosecutors—to set the rules.
Prosecutors have been ordered to wind down any current investigations that fall outside the new priorities. That includes cases targeting crypto exchanges, mixing services, or wallet providers for indirect or “unwitting” regulatory violations.
Since taking office, Trump’s regulatory bodies, including the SEC, have signaled a more industry-friendly stance—dropping enforcement actions and rewriting key crypto rules. The Trump family has also shown strong personal interest in the space. Donald Trump launched his own meme coin, $Trump, shortly before his inauguration. It plummeted in value following the release of a competing token by First Lady Melania, dubbed $Melania.