Justice Department Disbands Its Crypto Crime Enforcement Team

On April 7-8, 2025, the Justice Department disbanded its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, the specialized unit created in 2021 to pursue money laundering, fraud and sanctions-evasion cases involving digital assets. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche directed the shift in a memo titled "Ending Regulation by Prosecution," saying DOJ would no longer use criminal enforcement to impose regulatory frameworks on crypto.

Going forward, prosecutors were told to focus on cases where digital assets are used for terrorism, narcotics, human trafficking or cartel financing, rather than pursuing exchanges or projects for structural compliance failures.

The move followed through on Trump administration promises to loosen crypto oversight, arriving alongside a wave of pro-crypto regulatory appointments and Trump family-linked digital asset ventures, prompting warnings from ethics watchdogs about reduced accountability in a fast-growing financial sector.