New York Attorney General Calls For Crypto Whistleblowers
- The New York Attorney General’s office is one of the biggest critics of the crypto space.
Regulators around the world are closely monitoring the crypto space and bringing it under control. The Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, recently urged individuals and investors with information on any foul play in crypto firms to come forward with their stories as whistleblowers.
James made the plea in a note she shared on Monday, August 1st, asking crypto users based in the state who have been “deceived or affected by the cryptocurrency crash” to contact her office. The recent market slump has seen thousands of crypto users lose their funds and savings. In some cases, these losses were a result of the negligence of the projects they invested in. At other times, it was due to fraudulent schemes.
A part of the press release read,
As part of the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) ongoing investigative work, OAG is interested in hearing from New York investors who have been locked out of their accounts, who are unable to access their investments, or who have been deceived about their cryptocurrency investments. New Yorkers who have been affected by this conduct are strongly encouraged to report these issues to OAG.
The New York Attorney General’s website currently offers individuals the opportunity to upload relevant documents and information to report their stories. Furthermore, investors and those willing to file a report do not need to worry about their privacy as they can maintain their anonymity as whistleblowers.
The AG singled out victims of the recent Terra LUNA crash, and others whose accounts were frozen or had their withdrawals paused on Celcius, Voyager, or any other failed project. According to the notice, all complaints will be handled by the Investor Protection Bureau of the New York Attorney General’s office.
The New York Attorney General’s office is one of the vocal critics of the malpractices in the crypto space. This would not be the first time the AG has made comments seeking to probe the industry. The Attorney General took action against two cryptocurrency loan platforms in October 2021 because it believed they were illegally operating in the state by providing and selling commodities and securities. Most recently, in early June, the AG’s office cautioned crypto users about the vulnerabilities of the market, saying that investors may lose hundreds of billions of dollars.
James emphasized that even digital assets that are popular and traded on trustworthy exchanges have the potential to fall. So, the attorney general is certain that investing in cryptocurrencies will cause investors more pain than the gain they hope for.
She said,
The cryptocurrency market is extremely unpredictable. Just last month, the market reached record lows and investors lost hundreds of billions. New Yorkers should be cautious and think twice before putting their hard-earned money into this unstable market.
The crypto alert also emphasized a number of problems that could deter investors, such as the market’s unpredictability, challenges with cashing out, high costs, and the volatility of various stablecoins. Crypto investors and users know that it is only a matter of time before full regulation comes into play.
Lawrence has covered some exciting stories in his career as a journalist, he finds blockchain-related stories very intriguing. He believes Web3 will change the world and wants everyone to be a part of it.
