Washington, D.C. – The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has moved to dismantle its specialized unit focused on investigating and prosecuting criminal misuses of cryptocurrency, a significant shift announced via an internal memo dated April 7, 2025.
The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), established just three-and-a-half years ago to tackle illicit activities involving virtual currency exchanges and money laundering infrastructure, is to be disbanded “effective immediately,” according to the four-page directive titled ‘Ending Regulation By Prosecution’.
The memo, authored by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and circulated to all DoJ employees, frames the decision within the context of a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump. That order, titled ‘Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology’, was signed on January 23, 2025, and notably revoked a previous executive order concerning digital assets issued by the Biden administration.
End of a Dedicated Unit
The NCET was first announced in October 2021 as a cornerstone of the DoJ’s strategy to combat the growing criminal exploitation of digital assets. Its formation signaled an intensified focus on complex cryptocurrency-related crimes, aiming to bring specialized expertise to bear on investigations and prosecutions across the country.
The unit’s first director, Eun Young Choi, a seasoned cybercrime prosecutor, was named in February 2022, underscoring the DoJ’s initial commitment to building a dedicated team for this emerging area of law enforcement. While the memo announcing its disbandment is dated April 7, 2025, the NCET had reportedly been merged into the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) in July 2023, indicating potential structural shifts even before the recent executive order.
Rationale and Executive Order Context
The core justification for disbanding the NCET, as articulated in Deputy Attorney General Blanche’s memo, centers on a perceived overreach in the DoJ’s role regarding digital assets under the prior administration. The memo explicitly states that while clarity and certainty are considered essential for fostering a vibrant digital economy, “The Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator.”
This language suggests a view that the intensive enforcement efforts led by units like the NCET constituted what the memo terms “regulation by prosecution.” This approach, the memo implies, blurred the lines between law enforcement and regulatory authority, potentially hindering the development of the digital asset sector.
The disbandment is directly linked to President Trump’s Executive Order of January 23, 2025, ‘Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology’. While the specifics of the new executive order are not fully detailed in the DoJ memo, its revocation of the Biden administration’s order on digital assets signals a clear policy divergence that the DoJ is now aligning with.
Future of Crypto Enforcement at DoJ
The memo provides clarity on where certain cryptocurrency-related enforcement responsibilities will now reside, and where they will cease. It indicates that the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), into which NCET was reportedly merged in July 2023, will continue to provide guidance on matters involving cryptocurrency.
However, another significant shift is noted regarding the Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit. This unit will reportedly cease its focus on cryptocurrency enforcement entirely. Its resources and attention are being redirected to other priority areas for the department, specifically citing immigration and procurement frauds.
This restructuring signals a distinct narrowing of the DoJ’s dedicated resources towards cryptocurrency crime enforcement compared to the previous administration’s approach. While CCIPS will retain an advisory role, the elimination of a dedicated team like the NCET and the explicit redirection of another unit’s focus suggest a strategic deprioritization of certain types of crypto-related cases within the department’s broader enforcement portfolio.
Implications of the Policy Shift
The decision to disband the NCET and refocus units like the Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit is a direct consequence of the policy objectives outlined in President Trump’s executive order and articulated in Deputy Attorney General Blanche’s memo. By framing the previous approach as “regulation by prosecution” and asserting that the DoJ is not a digital assets regulator, the administration is signaling a preference for regulatory clarity potentially coming from other agencies, or perhaps a less enforcement-heavy approach from the DoJ itself.
Critics might argue that this move could hinder efforts to combat sophisticated financial crimes conducted using cryptocurrencies, potentially providing a more permissive environment for illicit actors involved in virtual currency exchanges and money laundering infrastructure. Proponents, aligning with the memo’s language, would contend that it removes uncertainty created by enforcement actions perceived as regulatory in nature, fostering a more predictable legal environment for legitimate innovation in digital financial technology.
The memo’s timing, dated April 7, 2025, less than three months after President Trump’s executive order on January 23, 2025, underscores the swift implementation of the new administration’s policy priorities within the Department of Justice. The future landscape of cryptocurrency enforcement in the U.S. will now rely on the remaining, less specialized, structures within the DoJ, alongside potential actions by other federal agencies.
