News from Gate News, April 27 — U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Monday at the Bitcoin 2026 conference that the Department of Justice has "fundamentally changed the game" in how it approaches regulating cryptocurrency developers.

Speaking alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, Blanche stated that developers who do not support third parties engaging in criminal activity will not be investigated or prosecuted.
Blanche's remarks aim to address concerns raised by the legal director of a leading digital asset platform about how developers should interpret DOJ enforcement policies, amid ongoing cases against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm and co-founders of Samourai Wallet.
Last year, Storm was convicted of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business, although the jury was unable to reach a verdict on charges of money laundering conspiracy and sanctions violations.
In November, both co-founders of Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, were sentenced related to operating a Bitcoin mixing service.
As Deputy Attorney General, Blanche previously issued a memo stating that the DOJ would avoid bringing cases that effectively set a regulatory framework for digital assets, and argued that such oversight should be carried out by regulatory agencies rather than through criminal enforcement.
FBI Director Patel emphasized the agency’s focus on combating "pig butchering" scams—romance scams targeting cryptocurrency users—and also indicated that enforcement activities are expected in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand to distinguish between fraud and legitimate use of virtual assets.