Following the removal of Attorney General Pam Bondi, Todd Blanche has been named to lead the U.S. Department of Justice, as announced by President Donald Trump.
Blanche previously served as Trump's attorney in a New York criminal case before being appointed deputy attorney general after Trump's 2024 re-election. As deputy attorney general, Blanche disbanded the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, established in 2022 under the Biden administration, and issued a directive to prosecutors to refrain from pursuing regulatory violations within the cryptocurrency sector. This move was referenced in a case involving Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, ultimately leading to the dismissal of a charge against him.
Blanche's government ethics disclosure, dated July 10, 2025, reveals that he transferred his cryptocurrency holdings, including Bitcoin, Solana, ADA, and Ethereum, to his family members. The disclosure also noted his holdings in Polygon, DOT, Quant, and Coinbase stock.
However, according to ProPublica, Blanche still held these assets, valued between $159,000 and $485,000, when he signed the enforcement memo, contravening ethics rules and his pledge to divest from crypto-related matters.