‘Play By The Rules’: New York Attorney General Issues New Warning Towards Crypto Companies

As
the
US
government
seemingly
starts
to
loosen
its
grip
on
the
crypto
industry,
New
York
Attorney
General
Letitia
James
has
issued
a
new
warning
to
the
sector.
James,
who
recently
announced
the
NYAG
office’s
$2
billion
settlement
with
Genesis,
reinforced
her
stance
on
crypto
companies
this
weekend.

Play
By
The
Rules
Or
Else…

Last
week,
The
New
York
State
Attorney
General’s
Office

reached
a
$2
billion
settlement
with
bankrupt
platform
Genesis
Global
Capital.

This
development
came
as
the
resolution
of
the
lawsuit
filed
by
the
NYAG’s
Office
in
October
2023.
It
became
the
largest
settlement
against
a
crypto
company
in
New
York.

Following
the
settlement,
NY
Attorney
General
Letitia
James
vowed
to
maintain
the
office’s
regulatory
oversight
in
the
sector
and
the
office’s
work
to
safeguard
New
York
investors:

New
York
investors
deserve
the
peace
of
mind
that
comes
from
a
properly
regulated
marketplace,
and
that
is
something
my
office
will
always
act
to
achieve.

Over
the
weekend,
James
reinforced
her
position
towards
companies
in
the
sector
on
an
X
post.
The
NY
Attorney
General
issued
a
new
warning
to
the
sector,
telling
all
crptocurrency
companies
operating
in
the
state
that
they
must
comply
like
any
other
company.

New York Attorney General's statement. Source: Letitia James on X

According
to
the
post,
those
who
don’t
follow
the
rules
will
be
in
the
eyes
of
the
Attorney
General’s
Office,
which
has
secured
over
$2.5
billion
in
settlements
from
other
platforms. 
 

Crypto
Investors
Challenge
Industry
Crackdown

James’
statement
received
backlash
from
US
voters
and
crypto
enthusiasts.
In
replies
to
her
post,
many
criticized
the
Attorney
General’s
decision
to
single
out
cryptocurrencies
and
crypto
companies
in
her
warning.

A
user

expressed
concern
over
the
post,
stating:

If
I
lived
in
NY
I’d
be
busting
my
Butt
to
find
a
way
to
move
like
so
many
Businesses
&
wealthy
people
already
have.

Moreover,
another
reply

questioned
the
“rules”
James
was
referring
to
and
where
a
State
Attorney
General
Fit
into
this
issue:

What
“rules”
would
those
be?

SEC
regulates
publicly
held
companies.

Banking
regulates
portions
of
the
exchanges.

How
does
a
state
AG
fit
into
this? 
Late
business
registrations?

The
user
further
challenged
James’
position
after
the
US
government’s
recent
U-turn.
Recently,
the
Financial
Innovation
and
Technology
for
the
21st
Century
Act,
also
known
as
FIT21,
was

passed
by
the
US
House
of
Representatives
“with
a
very
strong
showing
for
democrats,”
as
the
post
pointed
out.

As
reported
by
Bitcoinist,
Democratic
leaders

opted
not
to
whip
the
FIT21
vote
last
week
regardless
of
the
Senior
leaders’
sentiments
toward the
pro-crypto
bill.

Despite
the
uncertainty
of
the
coming
Senate
vote
results,
the
shift
of
the
Biden
Administration,
seemingly
fueled
by
the
industry’s
positive
response
to
Donald
Trump’s
endorsement
of
cryptocurrencies,
appears
to
have
offered
some
hope
to
investors.

Ultimately,
this
change
allows
for
a
clearer
and
more
industry-friendly
regulatory
framework
to
be
developed
in
the
country.

Total crypto market capitalization is at $2.5 trillion in the weekly chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView

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