In a significant policy shift, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel appeared at a virtual panel during the Bitcoin 2026 Conference, moderated by Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal. The session signaled a change in how the U.S. government approaches digital assets, with a strong emphasis on supporting developers and targeting actual criminal activity rather than the code or its creators.
Blanche argued that under the previous administration, the Justice Department and FBI had pursued cases against software developers in ways that trampled on basic rights. He stated that the government should focus on "the third party criminal and not… the builders and platform builders." Blanche acknowledged that aggressive enforcement had driven some crypto platforms out of the United States, stifling innovation. He pointed to cases involving Tornado Cash, Roman Storm, and Samourai Wallet as examples of investigations that perhaps went too far.
Blanche made a clear promise: if you are building software and are not yourself committing a crime, "you are not going to get investigated and/or get charged." He added that any developer under investigation should feel comfortable having their lawyer work directly with the FBI. Patel reinforced this stance but emphasized that law enforcement will remain active against fraud. The FBI has spent the past year targeting scam centers that use crypto, including networks tied to foreign adversaries.
When asked why this moment feels different, Blanche pointed directly to President Trump. He described the current administration as "by far the most pro-crypto administration in the world" and said the goal is to make the United States "the crypto capital of the world."
However, the continued prosecution of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm remains the clearest test of whether this policy shift is real. Keri Curtis Axel, a lawyer for Storm, said of Blanche's comments: "DOJ cannot credibly claim it has 'changed the game' while still prosecuting Roman Storm." Blanche acknowledged that some existing cases remain unresolved, describing them as "lingering," "very fact-specific," and "procedurally complicated."
