KuCoin to pay over $22 million to settle New York attorney-general’s claims

The bitcoin exchange KuCoin has reached an agreement with the Office of the New York Attorney General (OAG) to settle the claims, under which it will pay more than $22 million.

In March, Letitia James brought charges against the platform for violating securities laws by offering digital assets without a license.

According to the statement, KuCoin operated without registration as a broker-dealer and ‘falsely presented itself as an exchange’.

1/ I want to update all of you about our latest compliance action. @kucoincom has reached a settlement with the New York Attorney General (NYAG), solidifying our commitment to compliant operations.

— Johnny_KuCoin (@lyu_johnny) December 12, 2023

“I want to inform everyone about our latest compliance actions. KuCoin has reached an agreement with the New York Attorney General, confirming our commitment to regulatory compliance,” said Johnny Liu, the company’s CEO, to users.

KuCoin agreed to return to customers in the state $16,766,642, and to pay the regulator $5.3 million. The exchange will cease operations in New York, closing user accounts.

The court-approved order requires the platform to comply within 120 days.

As a reminder, in 2022 regulators issued warnings about KuCoin’s unregistered activity in Canada and the Netherlands.