Trump administration disbands crypto regulations enforcement unit
The Trump administration disbanded the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) according to a Monday memo issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) outlining their efforts to remove regulatory framework for the growing digital finance sector.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote that the NCET will be "disbanded effective immediately," stating that the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) will offer guidance to DOJ officials and work with the crypto and digital asset industry.
The DOJ also ordered the Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit to stop cryptocurrency enforcement and to instead focus on immigration and procurement frauds.
According to the memo, “The Justice Department will no longer pursue litigation or enforcement actions that have the effect of superimposing regulatory frameworks on digital assets while President Trump's actual regulators do this work outside the punitive criminal justice framework.”
Officials said changes were made to comply with a January executive order that seeks to provide “well-defined jurisdictional regulatory boundaries” to promote U.S. leadership in the crypto space.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has prioritized government deregulation and created a government reserve of bitcoin along with a “digital asset stockpile." He even hosted a Crypto Summit at the White House last month.
Democrats have criticized Trump's efforts, calling it a move that will enrich him given Trump's heavy investment in the crypto industry.
“The creation of a strategic cryptocurrency reserve is poised to enrich the President and his closest allies at the expense of American taxpayers,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, wrote in a March letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The letter came a month after several Republican senators raised concerns with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) handling of the case against the cryptocurrency company DEBT Box, which is accused of defrauding investors of at least $49 million.
The Monday memo says the DOJ will now prioritize the prosecution of those who victimize digital asset investors, or those who use digital assets in furtherance of criminal offenses such as terrorism, narcotics and human trafficking, organized crime, hacking, and cartel and gang financing.