Acting US AG Says Devs Will No Longer Be Charged Unless they Knowingly Help Third Parties Commit Crimes

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a significant shift in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) and FBI's enforcement strategy regarding blockchain developers. Under the new approach, developers will not be investigated or charged unless they knowingly assist third parties in committing crimes using the software they create. This marks a departure from previous actions, such as the enforcement against Tornado Cash developers. Blanche emphasized that the focus is now on prosecuting users engaged in financial crime, not the creators of the underlying technology, provided they are not complicit in illicit activities. While this change has been welcomed by the crypto community, some, like Coin Center's Peter Van Valkenburgh, argue that more clarity is needed to define the line between developing non-custodial software and actively 'helping' or 'knowing' about bad users. Concerns were raised about the DOJ's stance in legal cases, where they reportedly argue against providing pre-enforcement clarity to developers while simultaneously stating that developers are still cautious.

(Source：Cointelegraph)