Acting AG Blanche: DOJ Won’t Charge Neutral Software Developers

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told software developers at the Bitcoin 2026 conference on Monday that the Justice Department will not prosecute people solely for writing code that others misuse. He spoke on a panel with FBI Director Kash Patel after a question from Coinbase’s chief legal officer about recent prosecutions.

Blanche told attendees that developers who do not assist third parties in committing crimes will not be investigated or charged. He said enforcement will turn on concrete facts such as sanctions evasion or money laundering, not on the act of writing software alone.

The remarks come as prosecutions tied to crypto mixing services remain active. Roman Storm, the developer of Tornado Cash, was convicted last year of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business; jurors could not reach verdicts on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and to violate U.S. sanctions. In a separate case, Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill were convicted and sentenced in November in a case over a bitcoin mixing service.

Blanche became acting attorney general after the removal of the former DOJ head Pam Bondi. He said investigators will look for evidence that a developer knowingly facilitated criminal activity rather than treating coding itself as a crime, and he warned that investigative methods at the department have changed.

While serving as deputy attorney general, Blanche issued guidance urging prosecutors not to use criminal cases to impose regulatory frameworks on digital assets and recommending that civil regulators handle oversight when appropriate.

Patel used the panel to describe FBI priorities, emphasizing work against “pig butchering” scams in which fraudsters build relationships to extract money from victims. Patel noted the bureau plans field operations in Cambodia, Burma and Thailand this summer to target those networks and to distinguish fraud from lawful uses of virtual assets.

Blanche added that prosecutors will look for proof of knowing assistance or intent to launder money or evade sanctions, and that those facts will guide charging decisions.