Architect of DoJ’s crypto framework will no longer be leading their policy-making

Major figure in Justice Department’s cyber work is out from the policy office, but no word on where she’s heading next.

Per a Dec. 11 announcement from the Department of Justice, Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams is out of the policy department

Since 2017, Williams has been a leader at the Office of Legal Policy. Though the DoJ’s announcement today explicitly says Williams is leaving the office rather than the department as a whole, it does not say where she is bound for next.

As the announcement notes, Williams has been particularly involved in:

“The department’s cyber policies, including coordinating the development of a recent white paper on cryptocurrency as part of the Cyber-Digital Task Force.”

This is in reference to the DoJ’s October announcement of a framework for enforcing the law when it comes to crypto. At the time, Williams said:

“This Framework reflects the Department’s extensive cooperation with domestic and international partners in ensuring that we are adequately addressing these challenges, to the benefit of lawful cryptocurrency users and the public at large.”

That framework now seems to be another of many parting shots at crypto from regulators on their way out the door in advance of an administration change. At the moment, the eyes of the crypto community are on the Treasury, which is thought to be brewing up some attack on self-hosted crypto wallets. 

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