[guest post by Dana]

I’m sure this has nothing to do with the Trump Crypto Family:

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is shutting down its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) and refocusing its approach to digital asset investigations, according to a memo obtained by Reuters.

The memo, issued late Monday by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, directs federal prosecutors to narrow their cryptocurrency enforcement priorities, emphasizing cases linked to terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime. Per Reuters, the directive marks a significant departure from the previous administration’s approach, which aggressively pursued regulatory and criminal actions against players in the crypto space.

. . . According to Reuters, the unit had been a cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s broader strategy to crack down on fraud and illicit finance in the rapidly evolving digital asset market.

However, under President Donald Trump, whose family has entered the crypto industry, the DOJ is now charting a different course. Blanche’s memo criticizes what he called the Biden administration’s “reckless strategy of regulation by prosecution,” and instructs DOJ staff to cease investigations that fall outside the new, narrowed focus.

“All ongoing matters inconsistent with this policy should be closed,” Blanche wrote in the memo, per Reuters.

In his communication, Blanche referenced one of Trump’s executive orders that supports access to “open blockchain networks without persecution.” That order underscores the administration’s intent to foster a more favorable environment for blockchain innovation and investment.

And about that Trump Crypto Family:

As World Liberty Financial raised more than half a billion dollars, President Donald Trump’s family took control of the crypto venture and grabbed the lion’s share of those funds, aided by governance terms that industry experts say favor insiders.

World Liberty said in mid-March it had raised $550 million selling so-called governance tokens. Most of those sales took place after Trump’s election win in November, Reuters calculations show.

The tokens, which go by the symbol $WLFI, give holders the right to vote on changes to the project’s underlying code and to signal their opinion on its direction and plans. They cannot be traded.

As its fundraising got traction, World Liberty disclosed in January that the Trump family had taken control of the business, a review of changes in the fine print on World Liberty’s website shows. Two of its co-founders, crypto entrepreneurs Zak Folkman and Chase Herro, were replaced as the controlling parties of World Liberty by an entity in which the Trump family holds a 60% stake.

—Dana