Six US senators have questioned Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche over the Justice Department’s decision to disband its cryptocurrency enforcement team despite a sharp rise in illicit crypto activity in 2025.
The senators cited data showing crypto-related crime surged to a record $158 billion last year, arguing the shutdown weakened enforcement at a time when oversight was most needed.
Blanche dismantled the DOJ’s national cryptocurrency enforcement team in April 2025, months after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, saying the department should not act as a “digital assets regulator”.
Lawmakers allege Blanche held significant personal crypto investments when the decision was made, raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
“The fact that you held substantial amounts of cryptocurrency at the time you made this decision calls into question your own motivations,”
The senators wrote in a letter dated Jan. 28.
They said Blanche declared crypto holdings worth between $158,000 and $470,000 shortly before Trump took office and only divested months later, after issuing a memo scaling back enforcement.
The senators warned that shutting the unit was a “grave mistake” that could enable sanctions evasion, scams and violent crime, noting criminals stole nearly $2.9 billion through crypto hacks during 2025.