Trump taps confidant Todd Blanche as attorney general nominee… previously held Bitcoin

U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly dismissed Attorney General Pam Bondi and nominated Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche—who previously served as Trump’s defense counsel in his criminal cases—as the new attorney general.

According to CoinDesk on the 2nd (local time), nominee Blanche has spearheaded crypto-friendly policies since his tenure as deputy attorney general, including dismantling the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) established under the Joe Biden administration within the Department of Justice. In particular, he formalized regulatory easing by signing a four-page directive instructing prosecutors not to pursue cases involving simple compliance violations by the crypto industry.

These policy shifts are also influencing actual law-enforcement proceedings. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York dropped some charges against Roman Storm, a developer of “Tornado Cash,” citing Blanche’s guidance.

However, concerns over conflicts of interest surrounding Blanche are growing. In the past, when he signed the regulatory-easing directive, Blanche held cryptoassets worth about $159,000 to $485,000, including Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL) and Ethereum (ETH).

In a public ethics disclosure last July, he said he had transferred those assets to his children and grandchildren. But critics note that he still owned them at the time he signed the easing order, raising allegations that he violated ethics rules and a pledge to divest before taking up his duties. He was also reported to have held Coinbase (COIN) shares and a number of altcoins such as Polygon (MATIC) and Polkadot (DOT).