US DOJ Winds Down Unit Dedicated to Prosecuting Bitcoin and Crypto Firms

The US DOJ has disbanded an anti-crypto department formed under former president Joe Biden amid changing regulatory tides under Donald Trump. According to a Fortune Tuesday report, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has disbanded a special unit in the agency dedicated to cryptocurrency clampdown. Specifically, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) has now been dissolved, ending its four-year existence. The disbandment follows an internal memorandum signed off by the US Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, the second-ranking official in the prosecution office. The four-page letter disclosed the decision amid the new administration’s push for cryptocurrency regulatory clarity. US Prosecutors Make Changes to Crypto Unit Per the memo, Blanche stated that the US DOJ does not serve America in the capacity of a digital asset regulator. However, the Joe Biden administration used the unit to prosecute the cryptocurrency industry unfairly. Meanwhile, the new administration did not find the approach necessary, leading to the immediate NCET disbandment. Furthermore, Blanche charged the agency’s employees with pursuing their core duty of prosecuting bad actors determined to harm digital asset investors and not chasing litigation against crypto exchanges. The NCET department came into existence in 2021, during Biden’s reign. The team consisted of some DOJ money laundering and cybercrime prosecution unit members and other district attorneys. Notably, the unit was responsible for some high-profile cases, including the Tornado Cash sanction and one involving the Mango Market manipulator who scammed the protocol of $110 million. Trump Committed to an All-Rounded Regulatory Clarity Remarkably, the disbandment is one of the many measures Donald Trump has implemented in his administration’s push for clarity in the United States. Since he assumed power, the pro-Bitcoin president has shown commitment to fulfilling his vows to make America the crypto capital of the world. Aside from his pro-Bitcoin-dominated cabinet, Trump has signed an executive order to create a national Bitcoin and crypto stockpile. He has also instructed the US Securities and Exchange Commission to ease its regulatory grip on the crypto sector and created a digital asset working group for the White House.