The post DOJ Will Shutter Crypto Unit, Back Off Services Like Tornado Cash appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

In a massive shakeup for crypto regulation in the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice has disbanded its crypto-dedicated enforcement team and will no longer pursue criminal cases in several key crypto-related areas, according to an agency memo circulated Monday evening.  The DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) has been disbanded effective immediately according to the memo, which was sent to agency staff last night by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.  Further, the DOJ will no longer pursue criminal charges against crypto exchanges, crypto mixing services, or holders of cold wallets for “acts of their end users or unwitting violations of regulations” unless those violations include crimes like embezzlement, scams, rug pulls, and hacks.  A copy of the memo was posted to X Tuesday morning by Amanda Tuminelli, executive director of DeFi Education Fund, a crypto lobbying group. A source familiar with the matter confirmed its authenticity. The contents of the document were first reported by Fortune. In a major shift of agency policy, the DOJ announced in the memo that in cases where a criminal enterprise or state enemy like North Korea uses a crypto service to launder funds, prosecutors will only pursue the enemy group itself, and “will not pursue actions against the platforms that these enterprises utilize to conduct their illegal activities.” For years, crypto mixing services like Tornado Cash—which allow users to keep their crypto transactions private—have attracted government scrutiny, given they are popular not only among privacy advocates, but also with criminal groups looking to launder digital assets. In 2023, the DOJ arrested and filed criminal money laundering charges against the site’s creator, Roman Storm, who has vigorously protested the case on the grounds that Tornado Cash is a permissionless service that does not intentionally aid criminal actors.  Storm’s free speech defense was rejected…

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Filed under: News - @ April 9, 2025 2:21 pm