On Thursday, the office of the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, saying that the company marketed unregistered securities and commodities. According to the allegations made by NYAG in the lawsuit, the Seychelles-based KuCoin has been conducting business in New York without being registered as a securities and commodities broker-dealer.
NYAG Seeks To Block KuCoin
Despite the fact that KuCoin is not officially registered in the state of New York, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) was able to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on the platform while residing in that state. By taking this legal action, Attorney General James intends to prevent KuCoin from conducting business in the state of New York and to prevent access to the company’s website until it conforms with the law.
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The lawsuit against KuCoin further alleges that the exchange’s native lending and staking product — commonly referred to as KuCoin Earn — is also an unregistered security offering. It’s interesting to note that NYAG’s filing previously labeled Ethereum (ETH) as a security, however, as per recent information, the statement has been amended and changed to “commodities”.
Growing Crypto Crack Downs
In a press release, the NYAG’s office was quoted as saying:
One by one my office is taking action against cryptocurrency companies that are brazenly disregarding our laws and putting investors at risk. Today’s action is the latest in our efforts to rein in shadowy cryptocurrency companies and bring order to the industry.
This is a developing story and is being frequently updated.
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