Odaily News The U.S. Department of Justice notified employees late Monday that the agency is disbanding a unit dedicated to cryptocurrency-related investigations. In a four-page memo reviewed by Fortune, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the decision, saying, “The Department of Justice is not a digital asset regulator. Yet, the previous administration used the Department of Justice to implement a strategy of reckless regulation through prosecution.” Blanche is the No. 2 official at the Justice Department and a defense attorney during Trump’s 2024 criminal trial. He wrote that the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Unit (NCET) is being disbanded “immediately” as part of the Justice Department’s efforts to comply with Trump’s January executive order on digital assets, which was intended to “establish regulatory clarity for the industry.” As part of Monday’s memo, Blanche directed DOJ employees to focus on “prosecuting those who prey on digital asset investors,” rather than pursuing cases against cryptocurrency exchanges, mixers like Tornado Cash, and “offline wallets.”