The U.S. Department of Justice notified staff on Monday evening that the agency was disbanding a unit dedicated to crypto-related investigations. In a four-page memo reviewed by Fortune, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the decision, stating: “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.”
Blanche, the second-ranking official in the DOJ and President Donald Trump’s defense attorney during his 2024 criminal trial, wrote that NCET, or the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, was disbanded “effective immediately” as part of the agency’s efforts to comply with Trump’s January Bitcoin and digital assets reserve. Just days later, he also invited a who’s who of crypto executives to Washington, D.C., to speak about legislative priorities in a public photo op.
“I promised to make America the Bitcoin superpower of the world and the crypto capital of the planet," Trump said during the summit. “And we’re taking historic action to deliver on that promise.”
Update, April 8, 2025: This article has been updated with a no comment from the DOJ as well as a link to the full memo.
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