Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel are speaking at Bitcoin 2026 on April 27 at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The session's called "Code is Free Speech: Ending the War on Bitcoin." Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal is moderating.
Two years ago, the DOJ was prosecuting Bitcoin developers. Now its two most senior officials are headlining headlining a Bitcoin conference to talk about developer rights. That's not a policy tweak. That's a full 180.
What They're Talking About
The session is part of Code & Country 2026, the conference's policy track. Topics include open-source software rights, civil liberties, and digital assets. But the title tells you everything you need to know about the framing - "Ending the War on Bitcoin" isn't subtle.
This isn't some generic "blockchain is interesting" panel. It's the acting AG and the FBI director standing on stage saying Bitcoin developers should be able to write code without worrying about getting indicted.
Todd Blanche
Blanche was Trump's personal criminal defense attorney before becoming deputy AG in March 2025. He's now interim AG after Pam Bondi's removal.
His crypto record is messy but directional. In April 2025, he signed a four-page DOJ memo that killed the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and told prosecutors to stop going after stop going after crypto firms on regulatory charges. A senior DOJ official later confirmed the administration was done charging software developers with running running unlicensed money transmitters.
Here's where it gets complicated. ProPublica found Blanche held somewhere between $159,000 and $485,000 in crypto - BTC, ETH, SOL, ADA - when he signed that memo. He moved those holdings to his kids and grandchild after the conflict got flagged. Six senators called it a "glaring" conflict of interest.
Whether that bothers you or just proves he gets Bitcoin probably depends on your politics. Either way, the guy running the DOJ wrote the memo that ended ended federal crypto enforcement. That part's just a fact.
Kash Patel
Patel holds $50,000 to $100,000 in the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF and has money in Bitcoin mining company Core Scientific. He's got skin in the game.
Him showing up at Bitcoin 2026 matters because the FBI has historically been one of the main agencies building cases against crypto developers and services. When the FBI director walks on stage at a session called "Ending the War on Bitcoin," that's a message to every field office in the country. Priorities have shifted.
Why It Matters
Go back to 2024. DOJ was prosecuting the Samourai Wallet developers under money transmitter statutes for building a non-custodial privacy tool. Treasury sanctioned Tornado Cash's smart contracts. Developers were catching criminal charges for writing code.
Then a few things happened. The Fifth Circuit ruled that sanctioning immutable Tornado Cash smart contracts exceeded OFAC's authority. Blanche's memo pulled prosecutors off crypto cases. And now the acting AG is headlining a Bitcoin conference about code being free speech.
The war on Bitcoin developers looks over - for this administration, anyway. Having the nation's top two federal law enforcement officials show up at Bitcoin 2026 to publicly back developer rights isn't just a photo op. Eighteen months ago, this would've been unthinkable.
The Rest of the Lineup
Blanche and Patel aren't the only names worth watching. Code & Country 2026 also features Senator Cynthia Lummis, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, CFTC Chairman Mike Selig, and Patrick Witt from the White House digital assets team. Main stage has Michael Saylor, BlackRock's Robert Mitchnick, Caitlin Long, and Arthur Hayes.
Bitcoin 2026 runs April 27-29 at the Venetian. Full speaker lineup here. The Blanche-Patel session is at 10:30 AM opening day. Pro Pass and Whale Pass holders get in.
Sean Ristau | @SeanRistau | 21Rates / The Daily Stack