Bitcoin Developers Are Not Federal Targets, Blanche and Patel Say at Las Vegas Conference

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel told the Bitcoin 2026 Conference on April 27 that developers who write neutral, non‑knowing code will not be targeted for prosecution — a stance grounded in Blanche’s April 2025 DOJ memo that directed prosecutors away from pursuing developers. The statements reduce regulatory overhang for Bitcoin development and could ease legal risk for open‑source projects, while Blanche emphasized that knowingly facilitating money laundering or sanctions violations remains criminal. Patel said the FBI will prioritize cross‑border crypto fraud (notably pig‑butchering scams) and plans enforcement coordination trips to Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand. Market impact: the reassurance lowers some legal tail risk for Bitcoin and developer activity (bullish for crypto sentiment), but high‑profile cases like the Roman Storm retrial in October will test whether the policy shift produces different outcomes.