Todd Blanche said developers who are not knowingly helping criminal activity will not be investigated or charged, and said the Justice Department has "fundamentally changed the game" in matters involving coders, including Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said software developers who build code without knowingly helping others commit crimes will not be investigated or charged, marking a notable shift in the Justice Department’s posture toward coders and crypto-related software. He said authorities have "fundamentally changed the game" and, in remarks tied to Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet, added that if a coder is under investigation, their lawyer should feel comfortable communicating with the FBI. The available source material does not provide a formal policy memo, implementation details, legal standards, or procedural updates in those cases, but the statements indicate a more protective stance toward developers of wallets, smart contracts, and other blockchain infrastructure when they are not intentionally facilitating criminal conduct.