Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will face his confirmation hearing in mid-July, a session that could reshape how the Department of Justice handles crypto enforcement. Blanche's permanent appointment isn't guaranteed, but if confirmed, the shift underway at the DOJ would harden — and that likely means more oversight work for the SEC and CFTC.
Hearing set for mid-July
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled Blanche's confirmation hearing for the middle of next month. Blanche has been serving in an acting capacity since his predecessor stepped down. The timeline means senators will get a chance to question him on his enforcement philosophy, including his approach to digital assets, before a full floor vote.
The timing isn't incidental. Crypto lobbyists have been tracking the DOJ's posture closely, and Blanche's hearing offers the first public forum where his views on blockchain-related crime and regulatory overlap will be tested.
A shift at the Justice Department
Blanche's confirmation would solidify a broader reorganization inside the DOJ's criminal division. Sources within the department have described a gradual move away from the aggressive, independent crypto prosecutions that marked earlier years. Instead, the DOJ appears to be deferring more frequently to the SEC and CFTC on cases that involve market structure questions rather than straightforward fraud.
That doesn't mean the DOJ is stepping back from crypto entirely. But the balance of power is tilting. Where once the DOJ might have led a parallel criminal probe alongside a civil enforcement action, now the expectation is that the SEC and CFTC will take the lead on everything short of money laundering or sanctions violations.
More reliance on SEC and CFTC
The practical effect is straightforward: if Blanche is confirmed, crypto firms and founders can expect to deal more with the SEC's enforcement division and the CFTC's whistleblower office, and less with DOJ trial attorneys who carry the threat of prison time. That could lower the stakes for some cases — civil penalties versus criminal charges — but it also means the SEC's interpretation of securities law becomes even more central.
For exchanges and token issuers, the message is already clear. The DOJ under Blanche would likely pursue only the most egregious cases — hacks, ransomware, large-scale wash trading — while leaving questions of registration, disclosure, and classification to the financial regulators. That's a shift that began months ago, but confirmation would lock it in.
The hearing itself is expected to last several hours, and Blanche will face pointed questions from both sides of the aisle. Republicans may press him on whether the DOJ is ceding too much authority to independent agencies; Democrats may ask whether the department is doing enough to stop crypto-fueled terrorism financing.
No vote has been scheduled yet, but mid-July is the target. Until then, Blanche remains acting AG, and the crypto world watches for any signals in the department's case docket.
