More Deputy Attorney General, Less New York Attorney General

On Monday, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Blanche published a memo entitled “Ending Regulation By Prosecution” in which he stated that the U.S. Department of Justice will stop its crackdown on bitcoin and crypto mixers.

Here’s the exact language he used in the memo:

“…the Justice Department will stop participating in regulation by prosecution in this space. Specifically, the Department will no longer target virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and offline wallets for the acts of their end users or unwitting violations of regulations…”

The following day, New York Attorney General (NYAG) James co-authored a letter in which she called on congressional leaders to create federal crypto regulation, in part to prevent the use of crypto mixers for illicit purposes.

Here’s what she and her co-authors had to say about crypto mixers:

“Effective legislation must require cryptocurrency platforms to expressly comply with anti-money laundering laws, know your customer (“KYC”) regulations and cyber security protocols to prevent the use of cryptocurrency to finance terrorism, adversarial regimes, and crime. Cryptocurrency that cannot be fully traced, such as those going through money laundering mixers, must not be allowed to be converted, directly or indirectly, to U.S. dollars.”

While DAG Blanche gave the benefit of the doubt to users of Bitcoin and crypto mixers, NY AG James implied that all users of such mixers are criminals, as she refers to the technology as “money laundering mixers.”

Such language is deeply concerning to hear from the attorney general of a state — much less any lawyer — as it presumes guilt.

NY AG James has employed this type of rhetoric around Bitcoin and crypto since she assumed the attorney general role in 2018, and it’s unfair because 1.) she’s never once acknowledged that human rights and pro-democracy activists use mixers to preserve both their privacy and the privacy of their donors and 2.) U.S. citizens have a right to financial privacy.

So, as the topic Bitcoin privacy becomes more prominent in the political sphere, be sure to do your part to amplify the type rhetoric that DAG Blanche is using while pushing back on the dangerous and unjust rhetoric from the likes of NY AG James.

It’s up to us to make our voices heard on this issue and to let our elected officials know that it matters to us, especially as the Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash cases unfold (more on both cases in the discussion below).