US DOJ says ‘writing code’ is not a crime, signaling shift in crypto enforcement

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has drawn a new line on how it will approach developers in the digital asset sector, declaring that “merely writing code without ill intent is not a crime.”

The statement, delivered Thursday by Matthew J. Galeotti, acting assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Criminal Division, signals one of the clearest shifts yet in crypto enforcement.

Speaking at an event hosted by the American Innovation Project, Galeotti said open-source developers should not fear prosecution simply for contributing code.

“The criminal division will, however, continue to prosecute those who knowingly commit crimes or who aid and abet the commission of crimes, including fraud, money laundering, and sanctions evasion,” he added.

The remarks come weeks after a New York jury convicted Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm on conspiracy charges for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Prosecutors said Storm had violated federal statute 18 U.S.C. 1960, but Galeotti clarified that new charges under that law would not be approved if the software is truly decentralized, only automates peer-to-peer transactions, and does not give a third party custody or control of user assets.

Katie Biber, chief legal officer at Paradigm, called the DOJ’s stance “an emphatic statement” that shipping code is not a crime.

“For too long, crypto and open-source developers in the U.S. have been living under a cloud of doubt. That uncertainty ends today,” she said.

The position also builds on the DOJ’s Blanche Memo from April 2025, which stressed the department is not a digital assets regulator and declared the era of “regulation by prosecution” over.

Still, Galeotti cautioned that developers are not immune if intent to commit or facilitate crimes can be proven. “If there is criminal intent, there could be other charges,” he said.