New York State Attorney General Letitia James has offered “ landmark ” crypto legislation that claims to be “ the strongest and most comprehensive set of rules on cryptocurrency ” in the United States. “ Rampant scam and dysfunction have come the hallmarks of cryptocurrency and it's the moment to bring law and order to the multi-billion-dollar industry, ” told Attorney General James.
NYAG Letitia James Launches ‘Landmark’ Crypto Legislation
The New York State Attorney General (NYAG) Office published Friday that Attorney General Letitia James has offered “ landmark legislation to tighten rules on the cryptocurrency industry to protect investors, consumers, and the broader economy. ” The announcement states:
Attorney General James’ program bill, which proposes the strongest and most comprehensive set of regulations on cryptocurrency in the nation, would increase transparency, eliminate conflicts of interest, and impose commonsense measures to protect investors, consistent with regulations imposed on other financial services.
The bill, nominated “ Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency, and Oversight (CRPTO) Act, ” would “ necessitate independent public audits of cryptocurrency exchanges and prevent individualities from owning the equal companies, similar to brokerages and tokens, to stop conflicts of interest, ” the release adds.
“ Crypto platforms would similarly have responsibilities to customers such to banks under the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act by necessitating platforms to reimburse customers who are the victims of scams. The bill would similarly strengthen the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) regulatory authority of digital assets, ” the NYAG Office elaborates.
Furthermore, the announcement explains that the bill would bolster investor protections by “ enacting and codifying ‘ know-your-customer (KYC) provisions ” and “ prohibiting the usage of the term ‘ stablecoin ’ to describe or market digital assets unless they're supported 1:1 with U.S. currency or high-quality liquid assets as defined in federal regulations. ”
The NYAG Office remained:
The bill would grant the Attorney General jurisdiction to enforce any violation of the law, issue subpoenas, impose civil penalties of $10,000 per violation per individual or $100,000 per violation per firm, collect restitution, damages, and penalties, and shut down businesses engaging in fraud and illegality.
“ The bill would similarly codify DFS ’ authority to license digital asset brokers, marketplaces, investment advisors, and issuers previous to engaging in business in New York and permit DFS to oversee the digital asset licensing governance, ” the announcement notes.
“Rampant fraud and dysfunction have become the hallmarks of cryptocurrency and it's a moment to bring law and order to the multi-billion-dollar industry, ” Attorney General James commented. “ These commonsense rules will bring further transparency and oversight to the industry and strengthen our ability to crack down on those that don’t pay regard to the law.”
(Kevin Helms, Bitcoin.com, 2023)