DOJ Shifts Enforcement Strategy: Blockchain Developers Exempt Unless Complicit in Crime

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has confirmed a fundamental shift in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) approach to blockchain technology, stating that "code is not a crime." Speaking at a Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, Blanche clarified that developers will no longer be investigated or charged unless there is evidence they knowingly assisted third parties in committing illegal acts. This pivot represents a departure from previous enforcement actions, most notably the crackdown on the privacy protocol Tornado Cash. The platform and its developers faced severe sanctions and indictments for facilitating money laundering and sanctions evasion. While developer Roman Storm was convicted in August 2025, the new DOJ guidance suggests such cases will be handled differently moving forward. Blanche, appearing alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and Coinbase's Paul Grewal, emphasized that the FBI and DOJ are shifting their focus toward the users engaged in financial crime rather than the architects of the software. This aligns with a memo released by Blanche in April 2025, which committed the department to ending the practice of regulation by prosecution. The announcement was welcomed by the cryptocurrency community as a step toward legal certainty. However, some industry advocates, including Coin Center, argue that the distinction between publishing non-custodial software and "helping" a user remains vague. Critics point to ongoing court battles, such as the case involving Michael Lewellen, as evidence that developers still lack absolute legal clarity regarding the boundary between software publication and money transmission.