New York Attorney General sues CoinEx over failure to register

• New York Attorney General Letitia James sues CoinEX for failing to register with the state. 

• The crypto exchange also failed to comply with a subpoena served last month.

• New York has actively brought lawsuits against crypto firms and individuals in recent months.

CoinEX sued for failure to register

New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued cryptocurrency exchange CoinEX over its failure to register its services with the state. 

In a petition filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on Wednesday, the New York Attorney General said;

“CoinEx offered, sold, purchased and effected transactions in cryptocurrencies that are commodities and securities, without having been registered as a commodity broker-dealer and a securities broker or dealer in New York.” 

According to the petition, CoinEX presented itself as an exchange and failed to register its services with the state. The New York AG’s office added that the cryptocurrency exchange also failed to comply with a subpoena it was served a few weeks ago. 

The attorney general added that some of the cryptocurrencies offered by the exchange are regarded as commodities and securities under the Martin Act, a New York securities law, since these assets represent investments of money in common enterprises with profits to be derived primarily from the efforts of others. 

The New York AG’s office said the four tokens CoinEX is offering as securities and commodities are; AMP, the LBRY token (“LBC”), LUNA and the Rally (“$RLY”). 

The petition wants to stop the cryptocurrency exchange from carrying out unauthorised activities in New York. Furthermore, the AG wants New York IP addresses blocked from using the exchange.

Finally, the New York AG wants “a full accounting of New York accounts and all fees received from New York customers.”

New York AG’s office has a history with crypto players

This latest cryptocurrency news doesn’t come as a surprise, given New York’s history with cryptocurrency firms and individuals. 

The state has been an active player in the cryptocurrency space and has filed lawsuits against some crypto companies and individuals in the past. 

In 2020, the New York Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against Bitfinex and Tether, alleging that the companies had lost $1 billion in customer funds. 

The state also filed a lawsuit against  Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of crypto lender Celsius in recent months.