The U.S. Department of Justice has officially disbanded its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Unit (NCET), marking the latest move by the Trump administration to roll back regulatory oversight of digital assets.
In a four-page memo distributed to staff on Monday evening and reviewed by Fortune, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the decision to immediately dissolve the unit that was established in 2021 under the Biden administration.
“The Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator,” Blanche wrote in the memo. “However, the prior Administration used the Justice Department to pursue a reckless strategy of regulation by prosecution.”
Blanche, who previously served as President Trump’s defense attorney during his 2024 criminal trial and now holds the second-highest position at the DOJ, stated the decision was part of the agency’s efforts to comply with Trump’s January executive order on digital assets, which aimed to “establish regulatory clarity” for the industry.
The now-disbanded NCET was a joint task force composed of prosecutors from the DOJ’s money laundering and cybercrime units, as well as attorneys from other district offices. The unit collaborated on several high-profile crypto cases, including investigations into Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer that scrambled funds to obscure ownership, and the case of Avraham Eisenberg, a hacker who exploited a crypto trading protocol for more than $100 million. The unit also led investigations into North Korean actors involved in laundering proceeds from crypto hacks.
As part of the directive, Blanche instructed DOJ employees to focus on “prosecuting individuals who victimize digital asset investors” rather than pursuing cases against crypto exchanges, mixers like Tornado Cash, and “offline wallets.”
This action represents the latest regulatory pullback on digital assets by the Trump administration, following previous directives to civil agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to loosen crypto regulation.
The administration has explicitly adopted pro-crypto policies, including a March executive order authorizing the creation of a strategic Bitcoin and digital assets reserve. Shortly after that order, Trump invited prominent crypto executives to Washington, D.C., for discussions about legislative priorities in a public photo opportunity.
“I promised to make America the Bitcoin superpower of the world and the crypto capital of the planet,” Trump said during that summit. “And we’re taking historic action to deliver on that promise.”
The crypto market has shown volatility in recent days, with Bitcoin currently trading at $78,954.05, up 2.21%, while other digital assets show mixed performance across the board.
