toddblanche

Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general, is facing renewed questions over whether the Justice Department’s friendlier approach toward cryptocurrency has weakened its ability to hold powerful industry figures accountable.
The criticism intensified during Blanche’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on July 15, 2026. Senator Dick Durbin, the committee’s ranking Democrat, accused Blanche of dismantling the Justice Department’s specialized cryptocurrency enforcement operation and shutting down ongoing investigations involving the industry. Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal defense lawyer, rejected broader suggestions that his decisions were driven by loyalty to the president.
A major change in crypto enforcement
The dispute centers partly on a memorandum Blanche issued as deputy attorney general in April 2025 titled “Ending Regulation By Prosecution.”
The memo declared that the Justice Department was not responsible for regulating digital assets and instructed prosecutors to move away from cases that effectively created cryptocurrency regulations through criminal prosecution. Instead, the department would concentrate on people who directly harmed investors or used digital assets to support terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking, hacking, organized crime and cartel financing.
The policy also raised the standard for bringing certain regulatory cases. Prosecutors were discouraged from charging violations involving licensing, registration or the Bank Secrecy Act unless evidence showed that defendants knowingly and deliberately violated the relevant requirements.
Most controversially, the memo ordered the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, known as NCET, to be disbanded immediately. It also instructed the Justice Department’s Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit to stop handling cryptocurrency enforcement and redirect resources toward other priorities.
Supporters of Blanche’s policy argue that the previous administration relied too heavily on enforcement actions instead of establishing clear rules for cryptocurrency businesses. From that perspective, focusing on fraud, theft and intentional criminal activity could protect legitimate developers and companies from being prosecuted for unclear regulatory violations.
Critics, however, say the department did more than clarify its priorities. They argue that removing a specialized enforcement team reduced institutional expertise at a time when cryptocurrency is increasingly involved in sanctions evasion, money laundering, investment fraud and international financial crime.
The Changpeng Zhao pardon
The enforcement debate became more politically sensitive following Trump’s October 2025 pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as CZ.
Zhao had pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program at Binance. He paid a $50 million fine and served nearly four months in prison. Binance separately agreed to pay approximately $4.3 billion as part of its settlement with U.S. authorities. Trump later granted Zhao a full presidential pardon, with the White House describing his prosecution as part of the previous administration’s campaign against the cryptocurrency industry.
The pardon attracted additional scrutiny because of reported connections between Binance and World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency business associated with the Trump family. Before the pardon was issued, Durbin and other Democratic senators had requested information about Zhao’s clemency application and the administration’s financial relationships with Binance-related entities.
During Blanche’s confirmation hearing, Durbin alleged that Zhao helped direct a $2 billion transaction involving World Liberty Financial before receiving the pardon. The senator argued that the combination of reduced crypto enforcement, presidential financial interests and clemency for a convicted industry executive created at least the appearance of preferential treatment. These were political allegations raised during the hearing, not findings of criminal wrongdoing.
Concern was not limited entirely to Democrats. Republican Senator Thom Tillis also questioned the decision to pardon Zhao. Blanche responded that he would examine the pardon process if confirmed as attorney general.
Independence remains the central question
The controversy is ultimately about more than one enforcement unit or one presidential pardon. It concerns whether the Justice Department can maintain public confidence while its potential leader has previously represented the president and has implemented policies that benefit an industry closely connected to the president’s family.
Blanche has insisted that he is not merely a presidential “yes man” and has said he would refuse illegal instructions. He argues that the Justice Department should pursue genuine crimes without using criminal cases to resolve regulatory uncertainty. Senators from both parties, however, have questioned whether his previous relationship with Trump could affect his independence in politically sensitive matters.
A narrower and more predictable cryptocurrency enforcement policy could help legitimate businesses operate without fearing unexpected prosecution. But that policy becomes harder to defend when it is followed by clemency for a wealthy crypto executive whose company had reported business connections to the president’s family.
For Blanche, the confirmation challenge is therefore not simply proving that his crypto policy is legally reasonable. He must convince lawmakers that enforcement discretion, presidential pardons and political relationships have remained separate—and that the Justice Department will apply the same standards to powerful cryptocurrency figures as it does to everyone else.
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