KuCoin, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has agreed to pay $22 million and halt trading activities in New York to settle a lawsuit brought against it by the state. As part of the settlement, KuCoin will refund $16.7 million to approximately 177,800 New York investors and pay a $5.3 million fine to the state. The lawsuit alleged that KuCoin falsely presented itself as a cryptocurrency exchange while failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer. New York Attorney General Letitia James emphasized the risks posed by unregistered offshore crypto platforms to investors and the economy.

This settlement follows similar legal action taken by Attorney General Letitia James against CoinEx and Nexo Inc. and Nexo Capital Inc., two other crypto companies accused of similar violations. These cases have sparked a debate about which crypto assets regulators consider as securities and subject to existing rules and laws. Letitia James has also filed a lawsuit against Alex Mashinsky, former CEO of Celsius Network, for allegedly defrauding investors. New York has been actively pursuing legal action against crypto companies, securing a $1 million settlement with BlockFi Lending LLC for offering unregistered securities.

As part of the settlement, KuCoin must take measures to prevent New Yorkers from accessing its platform and cooperate with US law enforcement. This development highlights the increasing scrutiny and regulatory actions faced by cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms.

This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)

Information	Details
Geography	Africa
Countries	🇸🇨
Sentiment	neutral
Relevance Score	1
People	Alex Mashinsky, Letitia James
Companies	Nexo Inc., Celsius Network, KuCoin, New York Attorney General, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), CoinEx, SEC, BlockFi Lending LLC, Alex Mashinsky, Nexo Capital Inc.
Currencies	None
Securities	None