I. The Justice Department withdrew key charges but tightly holds onto the right to prosecute

Although the Trump administration publicly declared support for the crypto industry, Deputy Attorney General Blanch issued a memorandum in April promising to end the ‘prosecution to promote regulation’ strategy, the actual operations diverged significantly

In the case of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, the Southern District Attorney of New York only withdrew the registration obligation part of the ‘unlicensed remittance business’ charges but continues to prosecute under charges such as ‘conspiracy to operate an unlicensed remittance business’



Legal logical contradiction: The Justice Department acknowledges that Tornado Cash does not need to register, yet accuses it of ‘operating without a license,’ with defense lawyers calling this ‘absurd’


Crisis of industry trust: The policy advocacy organization DeFi Education Fund points out that the operation of ‘withdrawing some charges while retaining core offenses’ is essentially a delaying tactic by the Justice Department to evade public pressure, with regulatory uncertainty remaining unchanged



II. The Treasury's ‘fine-tuning’ of sanctions conceals hidden dangers

In March 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department's OFAC announced the removal of the sanctions label on Tornado Cash smart contracts, but developer Roman Semenov remains on the ‘North Korea sanctions list’



‘Precision targeting’ in regulation: Former OFAC official Michael Mosier revealed that the Treasury deliberately retained sanctions clauses related to North Korea because they grant the government broader law enforcement authority. This move is essentially a signal to developers: ‘We will not leave the regulatory battlefield’


Political weaponization: The North Korea factor has become a regulatory ‘trump card’—during the Biden administration, OFAC sanctioned Tornado Cash based on North Korean executive orders, a strategy continued by the Trump administration, highlighting bipartisan consistency in national security regulatory issues


III. Legislative reform in Congress is the only way out, but bipartisan gamesmanship has reached a stalemate

Despite Trump appointing crypto-friendly officials (such as Treasury Secretary Bentsen and SEC Chair Atkins), and the Republican Party pushing the GENIUS Act to establish a stablecoin regulatory framework, the latest news on June 24 shows that this bill was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 48-49 due to bipartisan disagreements over anti-money laundering provisions



Legislative deadlock: The Democrats demand the inclusion of a clause prohibiting executive branch officials from participating in crypto transactions, while Republicans oppose excessive regulation, leading to a stalemate that has stalled key legislation


Industry self-rescue proposal: The DeFi Education Fund calls on Congress to amend the Bank Secrecy Act to clarify that ‘non-custodial software developers are not subject to remittance business regulations’—but the bill's passage requires bipartisan support, making immediate progress unlikely

#加密市场反弹 #TRUMP

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