Todd Blanche Named Acting U.S. Attorney General as Crypto Enforcement Memo Draws Scrutiny

Odaily Planet Daily reports that U.S. President Trump has removed Attorney General Bondi and named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as Acting Attorney General. Blanche previously served as Trump's private lawyer in the New York criminal case and became Deputy Attorney General following Trump's 2024 reelection. As Deputy Attorney General, Blanche directed the Justice Department to disband the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, which had been created in 2022 under former President Biden, and signed a memo instructing prosecutors not to pursue cases based on regulatory violations in the crypto sector. The memo was later referenced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York in the prosecution of Roman Storm, a developer of Tornado Cash, and one charge was ultimately dropped. ProPublica reported that when Blanche signed the crypto enforcement memo, he still held cryptocurrency worth roughly $159,000 to $485,000, including BTC, SOL, ADA and ETH, despite a prior commitment to divest such holdings before working on crypto-related matters. A June 2025 government ethics filing shows he later transferred the crypto assets to his children and grandchildren.