Attorney General of New York Letitia James has issued a warning to the cryptocurrency sector, saying that businesses who don’t follow the regulations will face consequences.
James and the troubled bitcoin lender Genesis reached a $2 billion settlement earlier this week. She bemoaned the monitoring deficit that had caused victims to suffer enormous losses.
The NYAG filed a lawsuit against Gemini, Genesis, and the Digital Currency Group in October 2023 in relation to the contentious Gemini Earn cryptocurrency investment programme. Then, in an updated case filed in February, the fraud loss claim against Barry Silvert’s massive cryptocurrency business was quadrupled.
Genesis’ ability to conduct business in New York has been restricted as part of the settlement.
James broke both racial and gender boundaries in 2018 when he was overwhelmingly elected as the state’s attorney general.
James has taken harsh measures against a number of bitcoin firms since her historic win.
A protracted legal dispute between Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange, and Tether, the stablecoin issuer, began in April 2019 when New York’s top law enforcement officer took office. It finally came to an arrangement with James in February 2021, which included a $18.5 million fine.
Since then, Coinseed and other cryptocurrency companies have been the target of legal action by the NYAG.
The cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin committed to paying $22 million in total in December 2023.
Crypto lobbying boom
The regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency companies has led to a corresponding increase in their lobbying activities. According to a recent Washington Post story, bitcoin companies have spent $149 million to elect prospective supporters in Congress over the last four years.
